World Justice Academy
by Olivia Wren
Summary: What does Luffy do when he's stuck at an Academy run by the government? Find his crew, of course! AU, school fic, no pairings.
1. The Pirate King

**Disclaimer: **I do not own One Piece or the characters, those belong solely to the beautiful brain of Eiichiro Oda.

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Pirate King**

* * *

"Monkey D. Luffy?" He peered over his glasses at the man before him, then glanced back at the sheaf of papers in his hand. A deep hum rumbled from him, leather chair creaking as he leaned back. He rubbed a gold-ringed finger contemplatively against his lips before he sighed and closed the folder, setting it delicately on his desk as he turned to face his friend. "Garp…"

The grizzled man grinned sheepishly,"Sengoku. I know what his record looks like, but it's just a rebellious phase. He just needs the appropriate grooming to take my place."

Sengoku sighed heavily and pinched his nose, "Garp, I already got Ace admitted despite his… Less than stellar record. Now you want me to do the same for your grandson?" He eyed him, "Explaining one unusual admittance was hard enough. Now you want me to do it a second time?"

Garp laughed, teeth flashing, "Oh, come on, Sengoku! You know you owe me." He grinned widely, "Unless you want me to tell people about-"

"No, I do _not. _How long are you going to hold that ridiculousness over me?" He shook his head and threw his hands up in defeat, "Very well. But Garp,"-he pointed a finger sternly at him-"you better not be hiding any more children up those sleeves, or I'm going to have to open another school." He waved a hand at his friend and sighed, grinning reluctantly, "Now get out of here, you old coot. I have to come up with a good enough excuse for our board in order to get your delinquent of a grandson admitted to this school."

* * *

"Aaauuughhh! Grandpa, I told you I don't _want _to go to school." Luffy pulled his blue tie away from his chest and frowned down at it.

His grandfather's smack to the back of his head made him bend nearly in half. Sitting up straight again and rubbing at it, he glared up at him, "What the hell was that for?!"

"You're going to school, Luffy. It's the only way you'll get to a position like mine." He flipped the turn signal, then smacked Luffy's head again. The boy hissed and Garp merely said, "No more cursing like a sailor, either. Honestly, you and Ace picked up such terrible habits at Curly's. I never should've let her watch you two when I went off for business trips."

Luffy muttered several sufficiently sailor-like litanies as he glared out the tinted window, but luckily his grandfather wasn't listening.

"Now, you need to get your act together. It wasn't easy getting you into this academy and it'll be hard work staying there unless you bring your skills up." He pulled up to the curb, the brakes bringing them to a smooth stop in the luxury sedan, and then he shoved Luffy's backpack into his arms, "Alright, kid. Get going!"

Luffy rolled his eyes and opened the door, sliding his backpack onto his shoulder carelessly. He slammed the heavy door shut, the sleek black paint hiding the seam perfectly, but turned to glance back when he heard the window being rolled down.

Only to behold his grandfather's furious face. "GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE CRETIN! I TOLD YOU NOT TO WEAR FLIP FLOPS TODAY!"

Luffy grinned, but then he saw what his grandfather was grabbing from the leather interior and his eyes widened as he turned, trying to run.

"LUFFY GET BACK HERE!"

With instincts born of a lifetime with the man, Luffy ducked and the full mug of scalding coffee sailed over his head, only for it to slam into the kid in front of him.

"AHHH!" The kid dropped his backpack and arched his back, trying to get the steaming liquid off his skin.

Cars behind Garp's were honking at him. He looked like he might pop a blood vessel as he yelled at his grandson again, "DON'T THINK I'LL FORGET THIS! I'LL SEE YOU TONIGHT!" Then he peeled out of the drop-off lane, leaving tire marks on the pavement.

Luffy breathed a sigh of relief as the sedan vanished, other cars pulling up to the curb to take its place. He then walked over to the pink-haired kid and clapped his soggy back with a laugh. "Hahaha, wow, I'm glad I didn't get hit by that." The kid turned his glasses-framed face to him in incredulity and Luffy rubbed at his shaggy black hair sheepishly, "Sorry, sorry. That looked like it was hot!"

The boy sighed heavily, his dripping jacket sagging in his hands as his shoulders drooped. "Oh, it's alright, I'm used to it."

Luffy stared at him in confusion. "You're used to getting hit with hot coffee mugs?"

"Ehehe, not quite. I'm just used to getting hit." The boy rubbed at his head in embarrassment, then wiped the coffee from his other hand on a dry part of his shirt before he held it out to Luffy, "I'm Coby. What's your name?"

Luffy grasped Coby's hand with a wide grin, "Monkey D. Luffy! I'm going to be the Pirate King!"

Coby's jaw dropped past the coffee-soaked collar of his white button-down. "You-you-_what_?" He glanced at the majestic marble building in front of them, at the name blazoned over the door, then back at Luffy's grinning face, "You _do _realize where you are, right?"

Luffy laughed and clapped Coby's wet shoulder as he turned him toward the wide-open double doors before them.

Coby's protests that it was impossible trailed behind them as they proceeded into the World Justice Academy.


	2. The First Mate

**Disclaimer: **I do not own One Piece or the characters, those belong solely to the beautiful brain of Eiichiro Oda.

* * *

**Chapter 2: The First Mate**

* * *

Luffy's gaze roved across the field, attention decidedly not held by the less-than-fair fight taking place before them. His hand smooshed his cheek into a lump where he rested his face against it. He rested one ankle on his opposite knee, flip-flop-clad foot bouncing impatiently as he grumbled under his breath. This was supposed to be a demonstration of the skills they'd learn, but so far it hadn't been very interesting. Each student was evidently a second year or above, but Professor Tashigi was still kicking their asses and had yet to break a sweat. There were quite a few dirt and grass stains decorating the challengers' clothes.

He was entertaining thoughts of skipping out as he eyed the remaining candidates. His belief that the rest of the class would be boring was reinforced by every sweaty-faced student until he caught sight of the guy taking a nap. He perked up, head lifting from his hand, and called behind him, "Hey, Coby, who's that?"

Coby spared a glance in his direction, unwilling to be torn from the bout taking place before him, but then his eyes widened when he realized who Luffy was talking about. "Oh, no. That's Roronoa Zoro. He's a troublemaker. People call him Pirate Hunter because he's already taken down some pirate bounties even though he's not in his official apprenticeship yet…" He trailed off at the grin growing across Luffy's face. When Luffy turned that grin toward him and prompted him to keep going with an 'Uh-huh?', Coby started shaking his head.

"Nu-uh. No way. Don't even think about it, Luffy-senpai! You can't possibly be friends with him, it's impossible! Impossible! Impo-OWWW!" Coby rubbed at the lump on his head and peered at Luffy through teary eyes. "Luffy-senpaaiiii. What was that for?"

Luffy frowned thoughtfully, then said, "No reason."

Coby whined for a moment, then sighed and smiled hesitantly. "Eh, it's alright. I'm used to it." He shook his head again, "Really, though, you shouldn't get mixed up with him. That guy is bad news."

Professor Tashigi eventually called an end to the sword practice, telling them they should all get showered and dressed for their next class. Luffy pouted, but stood still as everyone around him trickled back into the building, Coby casting one last glance at him before disappearing into the boy's locker room.

So Luffy was the only one still standing there, staring at this Roronoa Zoro, when the green-haired boy cracked an eye open to stare back.

Luffy just grinned.

* * *

Luffy swung his black backpack in a circle, flip-flops slapping against the concrete as he walked down the sidewalk. The cuffs of his black dress pants bunched around his ankles, picking up some dirt as they hissed across the ground with each step.

Coby cringed. "Luffy-senpai, you really should roll your pants up. The uniforms are expensive and I don't want you to have to buy a new one!"

Luffy laughed, "It's fine, Coby! Don't worry about it." He quirked his head as they came upon an alley, muffled noises coming from the middle of it. He turned to look, backpack still swinging until he saw a collection of familiar swords on the ground at the alley entrance and he slowed to a stop. He stared curiously at the swords, then lifted his gaze to the scene taking place before them, the ends of his navy blue tie swinging behind his head from where he'd secured it around his forehead like a headband.

Coby stood nervously behind him, staring unhappily down the alley, flinching with every blow that landed on an unresisting body. He glanced at Luffy's face, but it had gone oddly blank, and like all the expressions he'd seen on this boy's face so far, something about it worried him. He reached out and tugged gently on the sleeve of Luffy's black jacket, "Uh, Luffy-senpai, we should go. That's the student police force, who metes out justice on behalf of the student government and keeps peace on the campus. He must have done something wrong to…" The words stopped in his throat as he caught sight of something big and brown stalking around the alley. He gulped, "They aren't… That's… There shouldn't be wolves on campus..!"

Luffy's eyes flicked to the light at the other end of the alley, where there was indeed a wolf prowling. His gaze was caught by different movement though-a little girl huddled against the wall of one of the buildings there, legs drawn up and arms hugging them tightly to her chest. She was crying silently, skin showing scrapes and bruises and the edges of her dress in tatters.

Luffy's grip tightened around the strap of his backpack hanging in his hand and then, to Coby's horror, he reared his arm back and flung the bag down the alley.

Right into the wolf, who went flying out of the other end of the alley and into the street.

"AHHH!" One of the student "police" officers turned to stare at the wolf, which looked like it might've been knocked out. He turned ever so slowly to face the other end of the alley, blond bob framing wide eyes that stared at where a satisfied Luffy stood in front of a very shocked Coby.

"YOU!" The blond boy pointed at them, gold rings flashing on his fingers. "HOW DARE YOU HURT MY PET!" He turned to the three students behind him, two of whom were holding Roronoa Zoro while the third had been pummeling him. "TAKE CARE OF HIM TOO!"

They glanced uncertainly at each other, but one of them grabbed both of Zoro's arms and held them behind the swordsman's back, securing them with zip-ties while the other two approached Luffy and Coby. They wore the same uniform Luffy and Coby did, but with the addition of a blue and white band around their right biceps that held the World Justice Academy's symbol twined with the World Government's.

"EEEE! Luffy-senpai!" Coby shuffled behind Luffy and tugged again on his jacket. "Why did you do that?! We really shouldn't get mixed up in this! Let's go!" He pulled ineffectually at the taller boy's jacket, but Luffy merely shrugged out of it, causing Coby to stumble a few feet before he caught himself. He stared at the premium black fabric in his hands, then slowly turned back to look incredulously at Luffy.

Luffy had rolled up the white sleeves of his button-down shirt, a wide grin gracing his face as he unbuttoned his collar and raised his fists.

Coby tried to shout out a warning to him as the two upper-classmen descended, but the words vaporized from his throat as he watched Luffy's response. Those movements, the skills he displayed…

Who was he? Those weren't the skills of a first-year.

Wide eyes blinked once behind thick glasses and the two students were already down and out. Coby's jaw dropped, his expression perfectly mirrored on… On…

"Helmeppo-senpai! I think we should leave!" The third student was still holding Zoro up by his arms, but it looked like his grip was loosening as the panic on his face grew.

Luffy bent forward and picked up the swords laying at his feet, dusting the sheaths off carefully. He started walking toward Helmeppo, head bowed, hair hiding his eyes. Helmeppo took a hesitant step back, then turned and bolted to the other end of the alley, disappearing around the corner. Luffy took one look at the student holding Zoro's arms and the boy bolted as well, dumping the swordsman into a heap on the ground.

Zoro landed heavily on his shoulder, his black jacket only providing protection from scrapes but not from producing yet another bruise on his arm. A grunt escaped his lips at the impact and his body tensed to try to protect his ribs. He turned his face to give Luffy a sidelong glance from the ground, "Who the hell are you?"

But Luffy didn't answer, only continued walking past Zoro until he was in front of the little girl. She stared up at him apprehensively, eyeing the sheathed swords he still gripped in his hand. She leaned back into the wall as he crouched until he was at her level and-

He grinned widely, arms draped over his knees, and asked, "Are you okay?"

Zoro watched silently as the girl started crying harder, then lunged forward and buried her face in Luffy's shirt. He rocked back onto the heels of his flip-flops a bit and then he started rubbing her back with his free hand and saying, "It's… It's alright, now. Hey, stop, why are you crying? You're fine."

Zoro blinked owlishly, then sighed and started sitting up until he was leaning back against the wall, one leg bent and the other sticking straight out into the alley, black boots peeking out from the ends of his dress pants. He wiggled until his arms were setting somewhat comfortably behind him and then let himself rest there for a moment, breathing carefully around already-broken (and now additionally bruised) ribs until he heard Luffy muttering, "You should go find your parents. Go on, those guys won't hurt you again." Zoro cracked open an eye to see the boy's grinning face as they both watched the girl scamper toward her backpack, which had gotten thrown into the alley when that stupid wolf had jumped on her.

She snatched it up quickly and started to turn away, but paused when she caught sight of Zoro watching her. She stared a moment, then her shoulders straightened and she trotted over to him. He sat perfectly still, slouched against the wall, his untucked white shirt barely moving as he breathed as shallowly as possible to protect his battered body. The girl leaned over him, careful not to touch him until she planted a very gentle kiss on his cheek. She giggled at his confused stare and then raced off down the alley, turning one last time to grin and wave at them both before she was out of sight.

Before he knew it, Luffy was walking past him again, back toward the pink-haired kid at the other end of the alley. Zoro leaned forward, wincing past the pain in his chest and only barely paying attention to the fact that his arms were still zip-tied behind his back as he called out, "Hey, you."

Luffy paused, head tilting just enough to indicate that he was listening, although Zoro couldn't see his face. His three gold earrings tapped against his neck as he leaned forward some more and breathed out, "Those swords are mine."

Luffy lifted the swords to examine them, then rested them on his shoulder, hilts peeking over the top next to his head. The ends of his blue tie-gone-headband swung as he turned his head to show Zoro a wicked grin, "Nah, I think I'll be keeping these."

Zoro's eyes widened and he tried to roll to his feet, but he went down on a knee with a hiss as he felt something shift in his chest. _Picking a fight when I'm already injured was probably not the best idea…_ He braced himself briefly, then surged to his feet and stumbled toward Luffy, though all he managed was to slam his shoulder into the wall. He was closer to the kid though, and upright, so he chose to stay put and rest. Just for a moment.

He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything they both heard the pound of running feet at the end of the alley. They turned to look, only to see what appeared to be the rest of the student police force standing there, Helmeppo at it's head.

The boy pointed a gold-ringed finger at them and shouted, "IT WAS THEM! THEY ATTACKED US!"

The students started running toward them, but when Luffy glanced at Zoro the rest of the world dropped into slow motion.

"Hey."

Zoro's eyes slid to look at the black-haired kid and he found himself concerned with the new smile there. Still wicked, but this one… He grinned back warily. "What?"

"I'll make you a deal." He jerked his left shoulder, the sword sheaths clicking against each other as he jostled them. "I'll give these back if you join my pirate crew."

Zoro stared blankly at him for a moment, then scanned him, noting the pieces of his uniform. "Pirate crew… For someone going to the Academy?" He quirked a brow.

Luffy merely grinned wider and spared a single glance at the advancing students. "Or I could leave you with them."

Zoro leaned his head back against the concrete behind him and a tired smirk slid across his face. "What are you, the devil's son?" He received nothing in response except a chuckle, so he lifted his head, earrings chiming as they hit one another, "Fine. As long as you don't get in my way to become the greatest swordsman in the world."

Luffy laughed and drew one of the swords. Zoro turned to present his hands and Luffy cut the zip-tie as he said, "I would expect nothing less from the crewmate of the Pirate King!"

Zoro's eyes widened, but he didn't have any more time to react to the claim as Luffy dropped the swords into his freed hands and the students descended on them.

* * *

Luffy wouldn't stop laughing and Zoro wouldn't stop cursing.

How had he wound up with these two, anyway?

Coby's shoulders drooped and he pulled another bandage out of the kit, then reached warily around Zoro as he pulled it tight to brace the man's ribs.

"AAGGHH!" Zoro clenched his fist and Coby flinched, but the man did nothing more than slam it into the bench he was sitting on. Luffy laughed harder and Zoro's eyebrow twitched. He grinned evilly and muttered breathlessly, "Why don't you come a little closer, 'captain'?"

"Sorry, sorry." Luffy wiped the tears of mirth out of the corners of his eyes, then set his hands back down to brace himself on the concrete between his swinging legs. He smiled at Coby and leaned forward on his ledge, "You're pretty good at this. Where'd you learn first aid?"

Coby smiled sadly, "Oh, well, I get all of the crappy jobs. Alvida-sama doesn't keep useless people around, so I had to learn how to do something other than clean."

"Alvida? Who is that?" Luffy stared at the back of Coby's pink head in puzzlement.

Zoro quirked a brow at the small boy in front of him, intrigued. "You mean _that_ Alvida? You work for her?" He paused when the boy flinched, then asked curiously, voice rumbling against Coby's trembling hands as they continued tying bandages around his ribs, "Isn't that against Academy rules?"

Coby turned fearful eyes up to him, "I-No-It's not what…"

Zoro turned to glance at Luffy, who was frowning and had crossed his arms, though his legs continued to swing, "Heyyy. Who is this Alvida?"

Coby had frozen like a deer in the headlights, so Zoro took the last bandage from his hands and tied it himself, hissing through the pain. "She's a pirate with ties to the local crime bosses. She keeps a presence in town." He eyed the frightened Coby as he pulled on his shirt, though he ran out of steam before he could button it shut. It didn't matter how many times he got them. Broken ribs always hurt.

And getting broken ribs further pounded on only exacerbated the problem. He closed his eyes and leaned against the back of the bench before he continued, "Working for any criminal is against Academy rules, but anyone who works for pirates in particular really gets the hammer."

Coby knocked the first aid kit over as he scrambled back from them both, "Please-Please don't tell them. I can't get into the Naval program at the Academy if they know I've worked for her!"

Zoro cracked a single eye open to peek at Coby, then he shut it again with a heavy sigh, "It doesn't matter to me, kid."

Coby stared at him, then turned hesitantly to Luffy. "Luffy-senpai…?"

But Luffy was playing with his tie again and had somehow managed to knot it around both of his hands. He was still frowning at the mess in puzzlement when he looked up and asked, "What are we talking about?"

Zoro chuckled.

* * *

Zoro finally sighed and glanced over his shoulder, "Why are you following me home?"

Luffy shrugged and tucked his hands behind his head, staring at the buildings around them, "No reason."

Zoro watched him a moment longer. His backpack dangled haphazardly off one shoulder, but he'd finally draped his tie back around his neck. His jacket, however, was tied around his waist. Zoro just shrugged and continued on. He probably looked no better, with both his jacket and shirt open over his chest and his three swords hanging from his belt. They could look like gang members for all he cared. He slid his hands into his pockets and hunched slightly, grimacing in pain.

They strolled along silently then until they reached a ramshackle apartment complex, where Zoro fished out a key and unlocked the iron gate and the door behind it. Luffy stepped in behind the swordsman and eyed the dimly lit hallway curiously. He followed Zoro up the narrow stairs, humming thoughtfully, hands still tucked behind his head. Zoro glanced back at him once before opening another door.

"Johnny, Yosaku, I'm back."

"ZORO-ANIKI!"

Zoro collapsed onto his bed with a grunt, his bandaged chest bared to the ceiling. He pointed vaguely at the doorway, where Luffy was examining a display of swords, and said, "Meet my captain."

Johnny and Yosaku shared a confused look, then stood together, drawing Luffy's gaze to them.

"I'm Johnny!"

"And I'm Yosaku!"

They stood side by side and crossed their arms, saying proudly in unison as they stood between Zoro's bed on one side and their bunk beds on the other, "We're bounty hunters!"

Luffy grinned at them and placed his hands on his hips, "I'm Monkey D. Luffy! I'm going to be the Pirate King!"

The two stared incredulously at him, then started laughing. Johnny, half-bent with laughter, turned to look at Zoro while he pointed at Luffy, "Zoro-aniki, that was a good joke! 'Meet my captain'. Haha! As if you'd join a pirate crew with such a pipsqueak as your captain!"

Zoro yawned and frowned faintly at Johnny. "Joke?"

Johnny's laughter trailed off, but it was Yosaku whose jaw dropped and he asked, "Wait, you're being serious?!" He shoved Johnny's head down so he could lean over him to give Zoro a wild-eyed look. He pointed sideways at Luffy, "You joined a pirate crew led by this _kid_? What… What about your ambition?!"

Zoro smirked, "You heard him. He's going to be the Pirate King. He's going to need the greatest swordsman in the world on his crew." His gaze slid back to Luffy, who grinned as Zoro asked, "Isn't that right?"

Johnny surged up from under Yosaku, knocking his brother over, to glare at the now-laughing kid standing in front of their flimsy apartment door. He pointed at him again, "How dare you take aniki away from us!" He stood straighter and put his other hand on his hip, the ends of his blue sweatshirt swinging with his raised arm, "I challenge you to a duel!"

Luffy's laughing slowed, but a quiet grin remained on his face, "Oh?"

Zoro felt bad for Johnny.


	3. The Navigator

**Disclaimer: **I do not own One Piece or the characters, those belong solely to the beautiful brain of Eiichiro Oda.

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Navigator**

* * *

She slammed the door shut and leaned against it, trying to catch her breath. Brown eyes glanced down at the piece of paper in her hand and then she gripped it a little tighter, mouth firming in determination. Turning her head to press her ear to the door, she waited, hoping the footsteps would recede.

They didn't.

She stepped away from the door just before it burst open behind her. Orange hair swayed around her chin as she spun to face her pursuers, a tense smile on her face, "What now, you idiots?" She gestured to the open rooftop around them, "You've chased me all the way up here, but what exactly do you hope to do?"

The two goons looked at each other, then gave her greasy smiles. "Well, nee-chan, we're all alone up here. We can do whatever we want."

She opened her mouth to shoot back a retort, but she paused when she caught movement behind the two men standing before her. _Who the hell is that?_ She stared for a moment at the boy wearing a straw hat, laying on his stomach above the door. He looked like he might be a student… She grinned and waved at him, "Hey, boss! It's good to see you! Can you take care of these two idiots?"

The boy's face scrunched up in confusion, chin resting in his hand as his legs waved idly in the air behind him. "Yes?"

Nami sat on her surprise at the response and merely ducked between the two men, bolting through the rooftop door and locking it from the inside.

Luffy stared down at the door underneath him, a frown on his face.

"So, you're her boss, huh?"

Luffy hummed thoughtfully to himself as he looked at the two men before him, still frowning.

* * *

"And if the clouds look-"

_CRASH_

Professor Haredas turned toward the classroom door, blinking to keep the cloud of dust out of his eyes. He stroked idly at his long grey beard, pulling faint puffs of dust from it as he said, "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey… What's going on here?"

Nami stared incredulously at the figure rising from the dust. She had nearly convinced herself it was impossible when the wavering shadow solidified into the kid from the rooftop. He bent and picked up his straw hat from the debris of the door and brushed it off, placing it back on his head.

"What's with those guys, anyway?" he whined, brushing off his black suit jacket as well. "I didn't do anything to them."

The class gasped collectively as a fist came out of the dust cloud behind him, straight for his head-

But where had he gone?

Nami's eyes dropped to the ground. The kid had bent so far backward that he was resting his hands on the ground. He grinned widely, then raised his legs from the ground, grabbing the figure in the cloud around the chest on the way, and finished his backflip.

Slamming his attacker's head into the ground with a meaty thump.

Nami flinched back when something landed on her desk, but her hammering heart slowed when she realized it was just the straw hat. She stared at it for a moment, then raised her head as she heard the boy muttering, "Hat? Hat? Where'd you go?" He was patting at his head frantically, looking at the ground and trying to wave dust out of the way so he could see better.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey… I think it's over there."

The boy looked up at Professor Haredas, who was smiling kindly and pointing at Nami's desk while his other hand continued to shake dust off of his long black robe. The boy's dark eyes lit up when he spotted the hat and he smiled, "Hey, my hat!" He trotted toward it, the sound of his flip-flops slapping the ground strangely incongruous with the destruction in his wake. Nami knocked over her chair in her haste to stand as he came closer, but the boy simply grabbed his hat and placed it securely on his head. When he looked up again he grinned widely and turned to Professor Haredas, "Thanks!"

Then he shoved his hands in his pockets and just walked out of the classroom, whistling tunelessly.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey…" Professor Haredas stared at the shattered doorway for a moment, then turned back to the chalkboard and continued drawing, "So if the clouds look like this…"

* * *

Every time she thought she'd pinned down his habits, he threw a wrench into her plans.

She'd gone back to the roof, but hadn't seen him there again.

She didn't know who he was, so he had to be a first-year for sure. She'd asked around some of the first-year students, but only got a few tidbits of information.

She tried dropping in on the first-year swordsmanship class because he'd been seen there before, but it looked like he was skipping it these days. No one in his class had seen him lately.

She thought she caught sight of his hat once or twice, but every time she tried to get close enough to talk to him, he wasn't there anymore.

She was feeling distinctly like she had hallucinated him and had decided to drown her frustration in coffee, sitting at the window bar of the cafe, staring petulantly at the passersby.

So she nearly spewed her coffee into the glass when she saw him across the street. He was walking and laughing with some pink-haired kid wearing glasses.

She frowned. _A friend, maybe? But where have I seen him before…_ "Oh!" She blinked, then chuckled.

She was practically skipping when she left the coffee shop.

* * *

Coby should've been paying more attention to the unusual whispers coming from his classroom, but he was far more preoccupied with reviewing material for his test when he walked in the door and headed for his seat.

So it came as quite the surprise when he tried to set his backpack on his desk and found a girl in the way.

A very attractive girl. Who also appeared to be one of the upperclassmen.

Coby stumbled back until he hit another desk, his hands flying to brace himself against it, sending his flashcards scattering like flower petals around him. The girl was sitting on top of his desk, one leg crossed over the other, her black skirt scandalously high to bare her thigh. She was resting both of her elbows on her knee, hands hanging in front of them, head tilted, regarding him with a smug smile.

He had the unnerving feeling that he was a mouse being confronted by a cat.

Coby glanced around, trying to find a friendly face, any means of escape, but the entire class was carefully not looking in their direction, carrying on their own conversations even though their attention was clearly on this oddity on his desk in the front of the classroom. He gulped and turned his eyes back to the girl, "Uh, uh, um…"

She hopped off his desk and took one step toward him, her far-too-tight white button-down coming rather too close to his face for comfort. Her navy blue tie was broken only by the golden tie-pin that secured it to her shirt, providing a contrasting curve to the white behind it and leaving nothing to his imagination.

His face reddened and he tried to lean back a little further. "Uh, um, wh-who are you? D-d-do you need something?"

She smiled and leaned over him, bringing their faces closer, "I noticed you hang out with a certain someone with a straw hat…" She lifted her hand and his eyes riveted to the piece of paper between her first two fingers. His attention elsewhere, it gave her the chance to lean toward his ear, orange hair falling to hide her mouth, and say quietly, "I was hoping you would be willing to deliver a message."

"EEE!"

She blinked down in surprise at where he'd fallen off the desk, having been leaning so far back that he'd flipped over it.

"I-I-I'M SORrryyy…"

She stared at the doorway in shock as he vanished, his voice trailing behind him. Her face twisted into a frown and she tsked. _What the hell was that? Does he not know how to act around women? But then… Where could he be running off to? _

A sly smile slid across her face, _Or better yet, who could he be running off to?_

That smile stayed on her face as she sauntered out of the classroom.

Leaving a great many wide, staring eyes behind her.

* * *

"Luffy-senpai!"

Zoro opened his eyes and glanced past the gleam of his sword to see Coby's diminutive figure jogging toward them. He turned to say over his bare shoulder, "Hey, Luffy."

Luffy looked at him in the middle of swinging a mace around wildly, "Huh?" Then he gave a faintly panicked grimace when the mace slid out of his fingers and flew straight into Zoro's bandaged side.

"AHHH!" Zoro curled his body around the left side of his chest as best he could, then glared at his captain, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?"

Luffy held his hands up and waved them placatingly, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It slipped!" But his gaze was drawn up as he caught movement behind Zoro's hunched form and he smiled, "Oh." He raised his voice and waved, "Hey, Coby!"

Then he suddenly leaped up and back as Zoro took a swing at him with his sword. Luffy grabbed his hat as he felt it trying to fly off and pushed it back onto his head as he said, "Woah, wait, Zoro-"

A wicked grin slid across the swordsman's face, "Not this time, _captain_." He drew his other two swords, gripping the hilt of one between his teeth, and settled into a stance Luffy recalled from the fight in the alley.

So when Luffy landed, he raised his head, one hand still securing his hat to it, and grinned, "Is that so?"

* * *

Coby hugged the wall, terrified of the power display taking place before him. He knew Luffy had skills beyond a first-year, but to see him pitted bare-handed against an armed Roronoa Zoro…

He had greatly underestimated them both.

* * *

Luffy leaned back, Zoro's sword passing within centimeters of his nose. He pushed through his foot to launch himself into the air in a horizontal spin, avoiding the swipe at his legs that the swordsman had taken. Grinning, Luffy landed on his hands and spun his legs in a circle, trying to knock Zoro's swords away.

Zoro flipped his grip around and stopped Luffy's kick with the back of his sword, then pushed back to throw the boy off balance.

Luffy allowed himself to lean back with the force of the shove, landing in a crouch, hands still braced against the ground. He lifted his head and grinned.

Zoro's lips pulled into a wicked smile around the hilt between his teeth and he surged forward.

* * *

A severe gust of wind blasted from the middle of the field, clearing it of the dirt cloud the two fighters had kicked up and slamming something against the wall beside Coby. Zoro stood in the field alone, half-crouched, both arms held out to either side of him, swords gleaming in the sun. Coby looked to his right and found Luffy down on one knee, breathing heavily, one arm resting on his knee and the other fisted against the ground to prop himself up.

Zoro stood and dropped the sword from his mouth into his hand, then sheathed all three at once. He chuckled breathlessly and grinned, "I can't believe you guarded against that. You're a total monster."

Luffy grinned back and stood, brushing off his bare knees, "You're quite the monster yourself." Sweat soaked the back of his standard-issue navy-blue tank top and more than a few cuts peppered his black gym shorts, though he didn't appear to be bleeding anywhere.

"Well, that was quite the show."

Coby spun to his left and looked to the top of the wall he'd been hiding against. He stared fearfully at the source of the familiar voice, "You…!"

Nami grinned, an elbow resting on her knee and her chin propped in her hand. She was spinning Luffy's straw hat on the finger of her other hand. "You're a hard man to find." When he didn't respond, she stopped spinning the hat and held the brim between her first two fingers, holding it up and sliding brown eyes sidelong to Luffy.

"I'd like to propose a partnership."


	4. Trouble Brews

**Disclaimer: **I do not own One Piece or the characters, those belong solely to the beautiful brain of Eiichiro Oda.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Trouble Brews**

* * *

Sengoku stared at the work request in his hand. _A new door and frame? _He shuffled through the other reports on his desk but eventually leaned back into his chair, frowning thoughtfully at the piece of paper in his hand. _There were no incident reports for Haredas's classroom in the past few weeks. What does he want a new door for?_

He contemplated the page a little while longer and then, reaching a decision, he stood and grabbed his Admiral's jacket. A bell jingled near his knee and he smiled quietly to himself.

Opening the door, he held it wide to allow for his pet goat to pass through alongside him and they made their way out of the office.

* * *

"Haredas-san!" Sengoku stared in shock at the gaping hole where the professor's classroom doorway had once been. "What… How…" He paused, jaw slowly dropping, then just pointed at the hole where his goat was sniffing curiously at the splintered wood. He turned his head to the other man and said, "Explain!"

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, Admiral Sengoku. I didn't expect to see you today." Haredas stroked at his long gray beard as he looked up from the papers he'd been grading on his podium and smiled, "What brings you by?"

Sengoku gaped like a fish for a moment, then drew himself up and walked through the hole before him. His goat remained at the edges of it, pulling carefully at one of the planks of wood. Coming alongside the black-robed professor, Sengoku subconsciously stroked at his long braided goatee, mirroring the professor, and said, "I came to see why you were requesting a new door, Haredas-san. What in the world happened to it? It looks like an explosion went off."

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, it's not too bad." He shrugged, "The young boy with the straw hat did not seem terribly mindful of the structural surroundings during his fight." He looked thoughtfully at the door, "Though he appeared to be using them to his advantage, so he was at least aware of them." He smiled at the admiral, "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, no harm, no foul. I would leave it, but it can get awfully noisy without a door to block the hallway and I think it would be best to replace it for my students' sakes."

Sengoku's face had dropped into a bit of a grimace as he felt dread settle in his chest, "Straw hat, you say…" He held up his hand around mid-waist height, "Was he about this tall, skinny kid, with shaggy black hair?" He made a face and sighed out, "And was he wearing flip-flops, by any chance?"

Haredas laughed quietly, "Why yes, he _was_ wearing flip-flops!"

Sengoku shook his head, then walked out of the room and down the hall without another word.

His goat finally snapped a plank out of the wall and chewed on it happily as it trotted after him.

* * *

"You've got a call on the line, Admiral."

Sengoku waved his thanks to the marine saluting outside his office, then let himself and his goat into the quiet room, shutting the door behind them.

The goat trotted over to its bed and settled down into the cushion eagerly, chewing contentedly on its piece of wood.

Sengoku dropped into his leather chair and picked up the phone, "Yes, this is Admiral Sengoku."

"SENGOKU-SAMA!"

Sengoku winced and held the phone slightly further from his ear, saying with a sigh, "Yes, Nezumi?"

"SENGOKU-SAMA, I NEED TO REPORT A VERY TROUBLESOME STUDENT TO YOU!"

Sengoku felt a nascent headache beginning in his forehead and he braced his elbows on his desk, leaning forward heavily.

"Let me guess… Does he happen to wear a straw hat?"

* * *

"Are you here to present complaints about a student?"

Tashigi blinked, eyes wide behind her glasses, hand relaxing slightly from her salute in her surprise, "I-I'm sorry sir, but how did you know…?"

Sengoku sighed and leaned back in his chair, one hand dropping to pet the furry head of the goat lying on the floor at his side. The animal's bell jingled as it chewed on a wide, thick leaf it had pulled from the plant sitting on the floor by the window. Tashigi could just barely see its horns peeking over the desk from her vantage point standing by the door.

"A well-educated guess. May I make another guess that this could potentially be about Monkey D. Luffy?"

Tashigi braced her feet and clasped her hands loosely behind her back. "You would be correct, sir. Monkey D. Luffy has been absent from nearly every swordsmanship class since starting at this Academy." Her lips firmed, "He has also been using the equipment without proper supervision and has been seen sparring with another student, Roronoa Zoro." Her shoulders tightened, "Sir, I'm concerned that he has fallen into a bad crowd and it is negatively influencing his academic integrity."

Sengoku scratched a single finger in between his goat's horns, eliciting a happy noise and a friendly nudge from him. He glanced down with a quick smile at the animal, then looked back up at Tashigi with a faint frown, "Thank you for your report, Tashigi-san. I am grateful that you have brought this to my attention."

Tashigi saluted, "Of course, sir! Is…" Her brows furrowed in concern, "Is there anything you would like me to do? I have considered approaching Luffy-kun, but…"

Sengoku waved a hand, "No, it's alright. I don't want you to have to chase him down for a lecture. I have an idea of who is best suited to make him listen."

Tashigi blinked in confusion, but merely saluted again and said, "Yes, sir!" She bowed to him and left.

Sengoku groaned and leaned over his chair to pick up his goat, staring it in the face, "What has he gotten me into?"

The goat merely wagged it's short tail and licked the admiral's nose in response.

* * *

"Your grandson is a complete menace, Garp." Sengoku gestured wildly with his free hand, though the other man couldn't see it. "He's even worse than Ace! Where did you raise them, in a barn? No, you know what, don't answer that. I don't want to hear you say 'yes'."

He heard a laugh and a few muttered words on the other end of the line and grimaced, "No, it is _not_ funny, Garp. You need to get him in line. He's been destroying Academy property, picking fights, and skipping his classes. If you don't straighten him out then the board will expel him. So if you really want him to stick around then you're going to have to figure it out soon."

The petty pleasure he derived from hanging up the phone didn't make him happy, but it did provide a slightly brighter point to his day.

* * *

"Aw, hell. He makes it sound like the brat's been trying to bring the place down…" Garp shook his head, then flipped his phone back open and dialed his right-hand man.

Who, of course, answered very promptly and immediately said, "Garp-sama, we can't keep eyes on him. You perhaps trained him a little _too _well to take your place."

Garp guffawed, "Now _that's _my grandson! Pity it makes things harder for us." He smiled, then shook his head, "What do you have for me on his friends, Bogard?" He leaned back in his chair and turned to face the bank of windows behind his desk.

"He has two that he spends a great deal of time with, although there is a third who he has recently picked up. The first is the boy you threw coffee at-"

"-it wasn't on _purpose_, it was supposed to hit Luffy!-"

"-whose name is Coby. He's rather a model student, actually, who seems to have aspirations to join the naval program."

Garp grinned, eyes twinkling mischievously, "Oh-ho, does he now?"

"The second is Roronoa Zoro, a young swordsman who has made a name for himself as the Pirate Hunter by taking down some bounties despite not being in his apprenticeship yet. The third…"

Garp's brows raised curiously at Bogard's pause, "Hmm?"

"... Is a woman named Nami. We don't have a lot of data on her, but what we do suggests she might be a thief."

Garp frowned slightly, "A thief? What the hell is Luffy doing with a thief?"

"About that… Garp-sama, do you still have access to the Academy's records building?"

* * *

Coby nearly jumped out of his seat when the classroom door slammed open. Looking up, he _did_ jump out of his seat when he saw who was there.

"Zoro-senpai!" Coby blinked in confusion. He'd seen Zoro sweat before during training, but that was usually only after he'd been lifting enormously heavy weights for nearly an hour. For him to be sweating in the full school uniform and to have such an annoyed look on his face was very concerning.

"Coby!" Zoro stomped into the classroom and grabbed the front of the shorter boy's button-down shirt, lifting him past his desk effortlessly and then beginning to drag him out of the room, "You need to help me find Luffy!"

"Zoro-senpai, wait!" Coby dug his heels into the ground and grabbed at the fist in his shirt.

"Ahh?" Zoro turned his gaze back to Coby, his one raised green brow giving him a menacing look.

"I-I can't just leave in the middle of class!"

Zoro gazed around the room, taking in the young and terrified faces around him and the distinct lack of a professor, then looked back at Coby and raised his other brow skeptically.

Coby's mouth firmed with determination, "It's a self-study period that was declared by Captain Morgan, and no one is to leave before he comes back!"

Zoro tsked, then starting dragging Coby along again, "We don't have the time to wait for the end of study hall, Coby! I need you to help me find Luffy _now_."

Coby leaned back, hands pushing ineffectually at the unforgiving grip in his shirt. When they reached the doorway, Coby flung his arms out and snagged his fingers around the doorframe. "Z-_Zoro-senpai_!"

Zoro paused, the hems of his black jacket swinging to a stop around his hips, then sighed and turned his head to look over his shoulder at Coby again, mouth quirked to the side, "Fine. You've got two minutes. Figure out your cover story and let's go already." He released his grip and Coby stumbled back into the classroom, barely catching himself from falling.

He took a moment to catch his breath, wide eyes staring at the doorway from behind thick glasses, hands braced on his knees as he sucked in air. _He isn't going to stop, is he… _He sighed in defeat, letting his head hang briefly, then turned back to his desk with the intention of gathering his materials. But he froze when he realized that everyone was staring at him in stunned silence.

"Uh, um…" He looked around for a friendly face but found none. He turned slowly to the class president and rubbed nervously at the back of his head. "Um… I need to be excused from the rest of the study hall…"

The other boy just stared at him for several moments, mouth agape, then raised a slightly quivering arm to point at Coby's desk, "G-go ahead. But…" He glanced at the rest of their classmates, at their shocked faces, at the way they leaned back from Coby like he had the plague. The president's shoulders straightened a little. Looking back at Coby, he continued, "But don't expect us to cover for you with Captain Morgan. It'll be bad enough that we let you leave."

Coby waved his hands frantically in front of him, "No, no! This is entirely my fault, just…" He glanced around, thinking….

"COBY!"

Coby flinched slightly at Zoro's call, then walked quickly to his desk and started shoving his books, papers, and pens into his backpack haphazardly. As he did so, he continued, "Just tell Captain Morgan that you weren't able to stop me. I'll explain everything to him when I get back. I'm sure Zoro-senpai has a good reason for needing my help." He slung his backpack over his shoulder and started for the door, but paused halfway there and turned back like he was going to say something more.

"Time to _go_!"

Coby's arms pinwheeled as Zoro stomped back in and grabbed the back of his collar, tugging him toward the doorway, nearly running from the room.

* * *

"But… But that's impossible!"

Zoro tsked, "Yeah, well, I guess not." He came to a stop and released Coby's collar, causing the boy to stumble forward a few steps. Zoro's jacket rose and fell as he caught his breath, bare forearm resting comfortably on the hilts of his three swords, his shirt and jacket sleeves both rolled up past his elbows. The gates to the Academy stood before them, students flowing in and out, the afternoon sun blazing against the black iron and radiating off the white pavement.

Coby braced his hands on his knees and panted, then turned wide eyes to the swordsman, "But I thought"-one gulping breath-"She said she wanted a partnership to go after Buggy? Why"-and another-"would she take Luffy-senpai to him as a hostage?!" His glasses flashed in the sunlight as he adjusted them, pushing them more securely onto his face after the mad scramble from the classroom had knocked them loose.

Zoro continued to scan the area around them, his unfriendly gaze keeping students from complaining that the two of them were standing in the middle of the path. His voice rumbled quietly as he replied, "How would I know what goes on in that witch's head? All I know is that the last time we talked to her, she got a weird look on her face when Luffy said he was going to be the Pirate King."

He watched the people around them like a hawk, eyes following the students as they passed into the Academy grounds, and said absently, as if to himself, "The next thing I knew, Yosaku was shaking me awake and telling me he'd heard Luffy had been taken."

He blinked as something buzzed against his ribs and he fished his phone out of his jacket's inner pocket. Flipping it open, he set it to speaker and said, "Johnny, finally. Did you find where he is?"

Coby flinched at the shout that emanated from the tiny speaker, "ZORO-ANIKI IT'S TERRIBLE! BUGGY IS GOING TO HOLD COURT ON LUFFY!"

Zoro's brow raised skeptically,"What?" He glanced at Coby, whose jaw had dropped, a high-pitched sound leaking quietly from his open throat.

The smaller boy gaped for a moment, jaw working as he tried to find words until he finally stammered, "C-c-c-c-court? B-but Luffy-senpai didn't do anything, did he?!" He reached out to grab the phone, dragging it closer to his face, Zoro's hand coming along with it. His pink brows creased in panicked indignation, "Why would Buggy hold court on Luffy-senpai?! That's impossible! Impossible! Imposs-"

Zoro rapped Coby on the head, causing Coby's hands to fly to the injury and release the phone. Zoro faced both him and the little black device, voice edged with impatience, "Would one of you tell me why the hell you're both freaking out about court?"

"Zoro-aniki!" Johnny had quieted, but urgency still underlay his words, "When Buggy holds court, he almost always makes an example of the guilty party by executing them in a flashy fashion!"

Zoro instinctively leaned closer to the phone, hand pressing down on Coby's head for support as he yelled into the phone, "WHAT?"

"It's bad, aniki! It's really bad! He doesn't have much time left!"

Zoro's head bowed forward and his arm started shaking. Coby glanced up at him with concern as he felt the trembling hand on his head. "Z… Zoro-senpai?" he asked tentatively.

Only for Coby to shrink away from the terrifying smile that had stretched across Zoro's sweating face, his green brow twitching as he muttered, "That damn idiot..."

Zoro let go of Coby's head and stood straight again, then said with quiet menace, "Johnny, where the hell is Buggy holding court?"

"He… I... " They heard a gulp on the other end of the phone and Johnny said, "I heard he's holding it at his dock warehouses right now…! But, aniki, what ar-"

Zoro snapped the phone shut and shoved it back in his pocket, eyes raising to gaze at the white marble front of the Academy for a moment before he turned to face Coby again.

That devilish rictus of a grin had Coby worried. He instinctively leaned back as Zoro gripped the white hilt of one of his swords and turned his suddenly hungry gaze on Coby.

"Get me to the docks."

* * *

"Wait, so what did you want me to get?"

"The records on Luffy-kun and his friends, Garp-sama."

Garp grimaced at the rows of file cabinets in front of him, then rubbed absently at the back of his head with his free hand. He sighed and muttered, "This is going to be a pain."

"They should be separated by grade and then alphabetically. It shouldn't be that hard to find them."

Garp made a face and mouthed silently 'shouldn't be that hard to find them', then started scanning the cabinets.

"Really, Garp-sama, must you resort to mockery?"

Garp pouted, eyes sliding to the side as if he could look at the phone tucked against his head. "Ahh, shut up. You're not the one digging through papers for information on your grandson."

There wasn't even a beat of silence before Bogard replied, "No, I'm the one hunting down your grandson and keeping tabs on him."

Garp chuckled, but didn't reply as he tucked the phone between his ear and shoulder and pulled open one of the drawers for first-years. He muttered the names to himself as he passed them before-"Aha, there you are you rascal. Who in the world would file you under your first name, anyway?"

He pulled the folder out and stared at the plain manilla cover contemplatively, then paged it open carelessly and scanned the contents.

A tic started in his forehead.


	5. The Clown's Court

**Disclaimer: **I do not own One Piece or the characters, those belong solely to the beautiful brain of Eiichiro Oda.

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Clown's Court**

* * *

"HAHAHAHA! Your own _lackey_ turned you in! What kind of an idiot captain are you, anyway?" Buggy held a hand to his stomach, tears leaking from his eyes at the force of his laughter. Luffy just frowned faintly at him, arms crossed over his chest as he sat behind the bars of the cage.

Nami stood beside Buggy, face briefly betraying her annoyance with the crime lord until he turned to look at her. She planted a long-suffering expression on her face and said airily, "He's the absolute _worst_, Buggy-sama. Completely useless and a total freeloader." She smiled charmingly, leaning forward (against her every instinct) in a display of adoration, "Not at all like _you_, of course. Which is why I decided it was time to switch sides." She tucked a stray strand of orange hair behind her ear as she tilted her head to consider both Buggy and Luffy, "When I heard that you were offering a reward for him, I just couldn't help myself from jumping at the chance to work with you, Buggy-sama!"

Buggy did nothing short of preen. He stood up straighter and held his chin with one of his white-gloved hands, posing in what he was certain was a dashing fashion, though his cheap black suit ruined the attempt. "Oh, well, you know, I'm always willing to show newcomers how it's done. There's just so much I have to teach." His eyes slid appreciatively over the cargo-stuffed warehouse and his gang members perched on various crates or dangling their feet over the edges of the catwalks.

Nami ignored the laughter and praise coming from the sweaty minions around her and replied, "Why of course! I wanted no one but the best teacher." Her brown eyes slid sidelong to Luffy in his surprisingly sturdy cage and she frowned, "Which definitely wasn't _him_."

Buggy laughed and patted her on the shoulder consolingly. Luckily for Nami, he was looking at Luffy and didn't see her flash of disgust at the touch. He took a step past her and crouched, dusty black boots scuffing quietly at the concrete floor.

"I can't believe you ever deigned to work for this loser." He bent forward to peer at Luffy between the bars, placing his gloved hands on the top for balance, "How does it feel knowing you were so stupid that you got tricked into a cage by your own crewmate?"

Luffy was still frowning at him, brows creasing as the frown deepened. His bangs slid across his eyes as he finally tilted his head and asked in confusion, "Aren't you a crime boss? Why do you wear a clown nose?"

Utter, horrified silence was the only response for several seconds. Nami was grimacing, a touch of real panic in her eyes. _I told you not to say anything about his nose, you dumbass…!_ She smiled tentatively and reached out hesitantly to touch the crime lord's shoulder, "B-Buggy-sama, don't mind him. He's truly an idiot and doesn't have the faintest concept of how a _real_ boss should beha-" She cut off as Buggy slammed a hand on top of the steel and concrete cage and yelled with indignation, "I THINK IT'S TIME TO HOLD COURT ON THIS HEATHEN!"

Nami's hands went clammy and her stomach dropped as deafening cheers rang out around her.

_This isn't how this was supposed to go!_

* * *

"THAT LITTLE CRETIN, HE IS SO DEAD!"

"Garp-sama-"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THE SHIT HE'S BEEN UP TO! SENGOKU WASN'T EXAGGERATING!"

Garp slammed Luffy's folder on top of the cabinet and shoved the drawer shut, body nearly shaking with his anger.

"Garp-sama, I understand you're angry, but you should stay on point right now. If they find you looking through the records without permission-"

Garp snatched the phone off the top of the cabinet where he'd dropped it while flipping through Luffy's records. He smashed it against his cheek as he tugged open another of the first-year drawers. "I'm going to _kill him_." He started thumbing through the folders furiously until he paused and growled, "What the hell was the other first-year's name?"

* * *

"BUUUUUGGYYYYY!"

Buggy turned to frown unhappily at where the warehouse door had burst open and snarled, "Who the hell is that?"

"What do you mean, 'who'? It's the most beautiful pirate from the seas, of course." Alvida sauntered in, white cowboy hat reflecting the strong warehouse lights and only barely shadowing the nasty smile on her wide face, "Or do I need to remind you?"

Buggy gave her a smug smile back, "Ohhh, Alvida-sama. It's a true delight to see you again." He walked toward her, boots clicking loudly in the sudden silence, and stopped a few feet away so he could peer up at her curiously. "I wasn't expecting you for another week, though?"

Alvida replied haughtily, "Plans change, Buggy." Her smile slipped as she caught sight of what was behind Buggy and she narrowed her eyes, "I came at the right time, too. Were you planning on replacing me with this ugly little hussy?"

Nami clenched her teeth, resisting the absurd and sudden urge to look down at the school uniform she was wearing, '_Hussy'? 'Ugly'?_

Luffy burst out laughing.

Thankful, Nami turned to kick at the cage, easily covering her initial reaction with fake indignation, "Shut the hell up! Learn a little respect! Can't you see that she's the great pirate Alvida-sama?" Luffy dropped into snickering, a mischievous grin remaining on his face as he slowly quieted and continued to observe from under the brim of his hat. Nami eyed him worriedly, _Don't say anything about her looks, don't say anything about her looks… _

Alvida raised a brow skeptically, but was mollified a little as Buggy laughed and jerked a thumb over his shoulder, "I could never replace you, Alvida-sama. I just decided to take this little duckling under my wing since she so kindly offered her idiot boss to me for sacrifice. In fact…"

He turned to face the rest of the warehouse and his crew, greasy blue ponytail swinging as he threw his arms out, "We should celebrate the arrival of our beautiful Alvida-sama! Men, get the drinks!" Someone handed him a mug and he raised it, "And to our new companion Nami as well! LET'S FEAST!"

* * *

Zoro careened to a stop as Coby halted in front of him. Swinging his arms wildly to prevent himself from tripping over the shorter boy, Zoro asked, "What the hell? Why are we stopping?"

Coby didn't reply, eyes wide behind his glasses. His white button-down was soaked in sweat and he had been panting, but his breath had come to a halt as soon as he'd looked around the corner of the building. The docks were a warren of piers, warehouses, and shipbuilders' shops, all stacked around and on top of each other to fit haphazardly in the small strip of harbor space allotted by the city. It was such a confusion of buildings that Zoro wasn't the least bit surprised that crime was able to thrive under the nose of so much marine presence.

Coby had led them through the district with an unerring sense of direction, so it seemed strange that he had come to such a complete stop. Zoro glanced over his pink head to peer around the corner and took in the strangely dressed people, the boxes they were moving, the sound of partying nearby… and then he spied the mark on the backs of their shirts.

He placed a hand on Coby's shoulder, causing the kid to flinch and glance up at him with fear. Zoro patted his shoulder reassuringly, "Don't worry about it, I can take it from here." He grinned as he watched Alvida's crew walking in and out of the warehouse building, those going in carrying boxes and coming back out with mugs of what looked like beer. "I'm sure that's where he is. No need for her to know you were ever here, Coby." He patted the boy's shoulder again and trotted past him, making a beeline for the heavily-trafficked door to the warehouse.

Coby stared after him apprehensively.

* * *

"_He. Is. So. Dead._"

"Garp-sama-"

"_I KNOW!_" Garp slammed the last drawer shut with a clang and swept the stack of folders off of the top of the gray cabinet in front of him. Tucking them securely under his arm, he stomped out of the records room, down the wide hall, and out of the building, making his way to the parking lot. Jerking open his car door, he tossed the folders on the plush leather passenger seat and slammed the door shut, fuming silently as he started the engine.

Bogard took the hint and remained silent on the other end of the phone.

* * *

"Nami! Come on, have a drink, this is a celebration in your honor!"

Nami turned to face Buggy, a nervous smile on her face, "Oh, Buggy-sama! Really, it's okay, I don't-"

"_Nami._"

Her body froze subconsciously at the quiet tone and she felt a mug shoved into her unresisting grip as Buggy smiled again and threw his now-free hand around her shoulders. His hot arm felt like a brand across her cold back. He tapped his mug against hers and laughed, "There we go! Drink up, Nami!"

Suppressing the shivers trying to crawl up her spine, she stared at the mug in her hands, _Maybe… If I can distract him… _She tightened her grip on the handle and knocked it back swiftly. She gasped in a breath when she was done, wiping the foam from her lips with the back of her hand as Buggy roared with laughter, "Now _that's_ how it's done! Men, take a note from our newest member's skills!"

Buggy's many minions cheered, raising their own mugs in tribute. Someone refilled Nami's mug and winked at her, "Way to go, Nami-chan!" She smiled absently at the man and turned back to Buggy, rolling her sleeves up her forearm and tapping her mug against his as she winked, "Oh, but I'm still no match for _you_, Buggy-sama. Your parties are known throughout town as something to behold. I'd love to watch a master partier in action!"

Buggy laughed again, his bright blue ponytail sliding over his shoulder and down his back as he tipped his head back and drank. He slammed the mug on top of Luffy's cage and took a satisfying gulp of air. A white-gloved finger pointed at Nami's full mug as someone refilled his, "Back to you, newbie! Show me what you've got."

* * *

_I'm sorry, Luffy-senpai! _Coby gripped his elbows tighter and hunched in a little more as he walked back to the Academy. He felt terrible for turning away, but he'd done his part, right? Zoro had asked for his help and told him he could leave after they'd reached the warehouse. That was all they needed him for anyway, right?

_Besides, it's not like I can compete with their crazy strength… _

He stared miserably at the gray day-gray concrete, gray buildings, gray water, gray sky. It seemed to match his mood perfectly.

_Why do I feel like this?_

* * *

Garp was pacing behind his desk when Bogard opened the office door, the man's Naval boots barely making a sound on the thick cream carpet as he went back and forth, back and forth. Bogard had barely taken a step into the room with his wing-tipped shoes before Garp snarled, "What the hell is that brat playing at? Is he _trying_ to get expelled?"

Bogard paused for a split second, then closed the door gently and took off his beige coat, revealing his immaculate gray suit underneath. Garp merely continued to pace, the veins in his forehead becoming more prominent with each step.

Hanging the coat and his gray fedora on the coat rack, Bogard proceeded to take the stack of folders off the desk and slide into the red leather armchair in front of Garp's desk, paging through the contents briskly but without hurry.

When he finished, he set the folders back down on the dark wooden desk and leaned back into the chair, placing one ankle on the opposite knee. "It's not all that bad, Garp-sama."

Garp spun incredulously to Bogard, slamming his hands on the desk as he asked, "Not that bad?!" He poked violently at the folders, "Did you _read_ these, Bogard?!" He threw his hands in the air and looked up at the ceiling, "He destroyed Academy property, skips classes, fights with the student police force, uses the weapons without permission, and hangs out with a bunch of delinquents!"

Bogard placed his elbows on the arms of his leather chair and steepled his fingers before his mouth contemplatively. His keen eyes watched his employer's face as he said quietly, "Garp-sama… These acts are far less costly than the ones he performed on your own property _before_ he went to school."

Garp growled and slumped into his chair, dropping his chin into his hand as he grimaced across the desk at the other man, "That may be, but the Academy doesn't deal with this behavior like I do. They'll expel him and then all of that training will be _wasted_!"

Bogard picked up one of the folders and tossed it in front of Garp. The older man glanced down at it as Bogard leaned forward until he could tap the folder, murmuring, "I know you don't think your grandson plans ahead much, Garp-sama, but I believe Luffy may have an ulterior motive here."

* * *

Coby slid quickly behind some crates as he heard pounding footsteps coming down the dock. _I can't let them catch me here!_ He sat down, back to the wood, and took a few steadying breaths as he prayed, _Please, please, if anyone is listening, let them not see me! _

The footsteps got closer to the crate… And passed by it, continuing down to the next dock. Coby heaved a sigh of relief, _Thank you!_ Peeking around the corner of the wood, he looked toward where the footsteps were receding-

"_Zoro-senpai!_"

Zoro skidded to a halt and spun, "Coby? What the hell are you doing here?"

_This can't be happening. _Coby gaped at him and asked, "Wha-Where are you going?!" He pointed behind him, "The warehouse and Luffy are that way!"

Zoro cursed, expression twisting, and spun on his booted heels. Passing Coby, he yelled over his shoulder, "Thanks!"

Coby stared after him, _I know he's bad with directions, but if he got lost with the warehouse door in sight… _

His heart thundering painfully in his chest, stomach dropping, he called out, "Zoro-senpai, wait!"

Zoro peered over his shoulder as he continued running, one brow raising, "Ah?"

* * *

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Buggy leaned heavily on the concrete top of the cage, snorting with laughter and gasping for breath. He lurched forward, pointing at Nami, "You're kidding! And that actually worked?"

Nami laughed and leaned back nonchalantly with a smug smile, "Of course it did! Men are a bunch of idiots-Except for you, of course, Buggy-sama. You're what men _should_ be like, but alas, almost everyone falls short." She shrugged.

A smile slid across Buggy's face, "Everyone else just disappoints, don't they?" He tapped on the concrete, "Take this guy, for example. You followed him because he made promises about what you'd get, didn't he? But then he didn't deliver…" He bent to look at Luffy's pouting face through the steel bars, forearm still resting on the top of the cage and his blue hair swinging past his alcohol-reddened face. "Did you?"

Buggy glanced back up when he felt Nami's hand on his arm as she flapped her other hand dismissively, "Oh, ignore him. He's a party-pooper anyway, Buggy-sama, and we don't want him to spoil the celebration!"

Buggy's grin turned sly, "Hey… You're right." He turned to face the rest of the warehouse and drew his arm out from under Nami's hand, then he threw his arms wide and said, "What say we get this court up and running, men?! It's time for a flashy execution to really round out this party!"

Nami's fingers clenched reflexively on the top of the concrete. _Shit!_ She quickly plastered a look of drunken contentment back on her face as Buggy turned to face her, but failed to keep the look of surprise from flashing across her features when he continued.

"And our executioner for today will be… Our new member Nami!"

* * *

_This isn't happening, this isn't happening, this isn't happening…! _Coby couldn't tell if it was making him feel any better, but he decided he didn't want to stop his internal mantra to find out. He was getting awfully hot in his Academy uniform, the dress pants thick enough to make his legs feel on fire as he ran, but it was something he was only peripherally aware of as they came upon the corner where he'd previously left Zoro… _If I stop, I won't be able get started again._

And so, clenching his eyes shut, he pumped his legs faster and shot around the corner, "AHHHHHHH!"

* * *

"You can't do it, can you?"

_Why the hell is he grinning?!_ Nami clenched her teeth, shoulders tensing as her grip tightened on the gun aimed at Luffy's head.

That damn grin widened as he watched her, jeers ringing out around them. She felt buffeted on all sides by the sound, sweat dripping down the back of her neck as her breathing quickened.

"Oi! Nami! Get on with it!" She could hear Buggy calling from behind her, voice growing impatient. _If I don't do this, and do it now, then he's going to kill me…! _She bit her lip as she felt her hand begin to shake.

"Humph." Alvida grumbled and turned to Buggy, "Buggy, she doesn't have the guts. The ugly hussy is spineless."

Buggy frowned, eyes half-lidded, "Hmmmmm. Looks like I have my work cut out for me, doesn't it? Maybe she can't do it after all…"

Nami felt a flutter of hope-

-And then she felt a grip slide around hers and a chin rest on her shoulder as Buggy muttered with quiet menace beside her ear, "You do it like this, sweetheart."

Her heart stopped as he raised their joined hands, aimed the muzzle, and fired.

* * *

Zoro didn't take the door.

Zoro didn't want to take the door.

Zoro was hot and tired and _very_ ready to beat up his captain for getting them into this mess.

(And more than a little annoyed that he kept getting lost.)

So no, Zoro didn't take the door.

Instead, Zoro drew his swords with a vicious grin and _made _a door.

* * *

Something exploded somewhere else in the warehouse and there was dust and debris everywhere.

At least she didn't have to look at her handiwork.

Nami coughed and stumbled back, trying to release the gun, but her grip was still trapped between it and Buggy's white-gloved hand. His other hand gripped her shoulder as she tripped over her own shoes and fell into him, leaning into his chest. She turned her head away as she heard him yell toward the doorway, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!"

They heard screams coming from the cloud of dust and then the sound of scattered gunshots. Nami glanced up at the noise fearfully, flinching with every shot, an image in her head of that straw hat falling-

Buggy dumped her to the floor as he yanked the gun out of her hand and stepped over her to stare into the slowly-falling dust with a grumpy frown. "OI, GUYS! TELL ME WHAT'S HAPPENING!"

There were a few more screams, and then one of his men scrambled out of the dust on all fours, eyes wide as he said, "B-Buggy-sama, it's-"

Only for a sword to descend from the dust and into his back. Nami felt the blood drain from her face at the crimson that pooled on the floor beneath the man, as if she was the one bleeding and not him.

She flinched again at the sound of gunshots, Buggy firing at the shadowy mass that stemmed from the hilt of the sword.

The shadow was gone as quickly as it had been there, but what little she'd seen…

It couldn't be…

Could it?

But… even if it was, he was too late.


	6. Zoro Can't Catch a Break

**Disclaimer: **I do not own One Piece or the characters, those belong solely to the beautiful brain of Eiichiro Oda.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Zoro Can't Catch a Break**

* * *

Coby just stared. Floored, yet again, by just how severely he'd underestimated the crazy people who had recently descended upon his life.

Zoro was easily a one-man army.

_Easily_.

Coby gulped at the screams that emanated from the shattered hole in the warehouse wall. _No one is coming out… _

He suddenly slapped both his cheeks lightly, _Get it together, Coby! Zoro is keeping them busy, so what can you do?_

He took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and then scrambled determinedly through the gap and into the chaos.

_This isn't happening, this isn't happening!_

* * *

"WHO THE HELL IS THERE?!" Buggy was still pointing the gun at the slowly-dissipating dust, eyes scanning for the sword-wielding shadow that was apparently ripping through his gang like they were wet paper.

And making a mess of his warehouse in the process. He hated cleaning up messes.

"Buggy!"

Keeping the gun aimed, he turned to look at Alvida grumpily, "What is it?"

One of Alvida's lackies had brought her mace and handed it over to her. She lifted the spiked weapon to rest on her shoulder and grinned, white cowboy hat miraculously unscathed by the flying debris and dirt. "It's clearing up. Once it does, let me handle this." Her eyelids dropped, half-lidded and making her look like a well-pleased cat.

_Well if she's offering to go into close combat with that maniac…_ He gave her a greasy smile and sketched a bow, "Of course, Alvida-sama. I wouldn't dream of denying you the pleasure of schooling our party-crasher."

As she walked toward him, he realized that Nami had vanished from where he'd dropped her. He sneered at where he'd last seen her, _No guts at all. Good riddance, kid. You're obviously not cut out for this life. Although it would've been nice if you'd stuck around a while… _He schooled his expression as Alvida drew alongside him and they stood together, watching and waiting for the dust to settle.

It didn't take as long as he'd expected. What it revealed, though, _was_ what he expected, based on the screams that had died off a few minutes ago.

He immediately started assessing the damage. _The broken wall I can handle. That shouldn't be too hard to get fixed. _His gaze roved over the floor and his lip raised in disgust, _Getting blood out of concrete is a bitch. But maybe I can paint over it? That would certainly be cheaper._

And then he found the figure walking slowly toward them and his eyes narrowed.

* * *

_Dammit. _

Zoro breathed carefully, aware of the tenuous position his ribs had in his chest. He was beginning to regret the bounty that had given him broken ribs. Taking the place of that little girl with the student police force hadn't helped, but he couldn't find it in him to regret that.

He huffed a wry sigh, _It really is just my luck to have followed a captain who was kidnapped by Buggy and Alvida within a few weeks of me joining. _His dance in the dust hadn't led to any clues of Luffy's whereabouts, though, which meant that the kid wasn't on this side of the warehouse. He felt sweat drop down his cheek, his chest tightening painfully, but he ignored them both as he sized up his enemies.

He'd never seen Buggy in person, but the man wasn't hard to recognize with that slightly greasy blue hair, the big red nose, and the cheap black suit.

Of course, the crime lord was dwarfed by the pirate beside him. Physically, Alvida towered over the man, despite what Zoro could see of Buggy's physique beneath the badly tailored suit. As far as personality though, it felt like Buggy was ceding the floor to her, which puzzled Zoro until he saw the spiked club Alvida was wielding.

He grinned slowly around the white hilt gripped between his teeth as he deliberately raised his right arm to point his sword at her. "Pirate Alvida, worth 5 million berries." He moved his arm slightly to point his sword at Buggy, "Crime Lord Buggy the Clown, worth 15 million berries." He smirked around the hilt in his mouth, "A 20 million berry payday sounds pretty good right about now."

Buggy laughed derisively, "You really think you can take us down? Just try it, 'Pirate Hunter'." He placed his white-gloved hands on his black-clad hips, facing Zoro, and jerked his chin at Alvida, "You've put Iron Club Alvida in a bad mood."

* * *

Fighting the rising nausea, Nami jogged as quietly as she could down the warehouse hallway, making her way to the only office in the entire building.

Zoro had provided a wonderful distraction for her to get to the safe, but she couldn't for the life of her get the image out of her head of Luffy's stupid grin right before the bullet whipped his head-

She shook herself, _He's an idiot who would've died anyway! Wanting to be the Pirate King… Pirates are trash that should all be burned._ She clenched her teeth, trying to ignore the way her gut kept trying to disagree with her head, and grabbed the handle to the office door. She paused, holding her breath to listen and then, hearing no movement on the other side of the door, she quickly slipped in and closed it silently behind her.

Cracking the safe was a matter of a few moments and she was pleased to find stacks of cash sitting inside. _Very _pleased. She tugged each wad out, slipping them into the thin cloth bag she'd tucked into the band of her skirt. She was about to tie the bag shut when she caught sight of a roll of paper tucked in the back of the safe. She paused, mind racing. Glancing back at the door, she felt confident in her remaining time frame and pulled the paper out, scanning its contents quickly as she unrolled it.

A sly grin stretched across her face and she rolled it back shut, shoving it in her cloth bag with the money and sliding the strap over her shoulder as she stood and left the office. Brown eyes scanned the hallway, but she didn't see any doors leading outside nearby. Her face twisted with a slightly queasy grimace, _If there's no door here then I'll have to go back to the main warehouse…_ She shook her head. _Snap out of it! You're so close to the payment amount! _

She squared her shoulders and jogged back the way she had come.

Back to where the fight was still taking place.

Back to that falling straw hat.

* * *

_This isn't happening, this isn't happening, this isn't happening!_

Coby ignored the splinters that worked their ways into his questing hands, the pieces of wood and stone that he stubbed his toes on.

And he definitely ignored the softer things he tripped over and the puddles he stepped in. He was just glad he couldn't really see them.

Although admittedly, it did make it harder for him to find Luffy.

_This isn't happening, this isn't happening!_

He squinted through the slowly dissipating dust, trying to make out the shapes of the shadows ahead of him. If he just pretended that they were unconscious, he could get through this, right? The puddles were just water. It's not like the copper tang in the air was from blood…

He took a deep breath through his mouth in a vain effort to calm his breathing and continued his search. He could vaguely hear the sound of Zoro taking on Alvida in another part of the warehouse, but he'd worked his way far enough around that the clashing weapons echoed back to him strangely. No more bodies on the floor here, thank goodness.

Then he saw the straw hat, sitting like a piece of treasure in the middle of the concrete floor. He bent to pick it up, _Luffy loves this thing… He wouldn't let it go flying if he could help it. I'll hold onto it for him_. He held the brim tightly and then his gaze was drawn up by a sound and he saw a concrete and iron cage.

And what was in it.

* * *

_Shit!_ Zoro choked back the blood that was trying to come up his throat. _Not now, dammit!_ He spun and shoved, tossing Alvida's club off his swords and forcing her to stumble a few steps backward. Normally he would've pressed his advantage, but he took those few precious moments to catch his breath and focus on getting the black of unconsciousness to stop encroaching into his vision.

He would never let his ribs get broken again. His idiot of a captain would laugh himself to death if he could see how poorly Zoro was doing against a woman who had raw strength and no skill to speak of.

Zoro cracked a grin. Just imagining that stupid kid's laughing face made him want to cut something. _Not bad motivation, 'Captain'._ He took a couple more deep breaths in the time it took Alvida to plant her feet and regain balance. His eyes flicked past her jean jacketed torso to glance at Buggy. The man still had a smug smile on his face that Zoro didn't like. He was certain that the crime lord was planning something, but his suspicions had to take a back seat as he re-engaged with Alvida.

Her club landed again on his swords and he glared at it balefully.

_I'm really getting tired of this thing. Time to get rid of it._ He shifted his feet for better thrust, then spun again, knocking her club into the air. But this time, he did press his advantage, using the momentum of his spin to swing full circle and hit her right in the gut.

With the backs of his swords, though. Bounties could drop by as much as 30% if the target wasn't alive.

Alvida, of course, dropped like a stone. 5 million wasn't much as far as pirate bounties went, and Zoro didn't think she had very much combat experience based on her fighting skills. He doubted she'd had much practice with getting injured, either.

The tips of his swords just barely hovered off the concrete floor as he took several deep breaths. He lifted one and poked at Alvida experimentally with the tip until he was satisfied she was out cold.

Turning to face Buggy, he was increasingly unnerved by that still-remaining smile.

So of course, his suspicions were confirmed by the cannon that was being rolled up by his minions from behind the clown-nosed man. His teeth clenched reflexively on the white hilt of his sword.

It was just one of those days.

* * *

Nami hadn't thought it was possible for her stomach to drop any further, but that was before she saw Buggy's favorite weapon come out to play. She'd heard enough rumors of his 'Buggy Balls' to know that Zoro didn't have a chance of getting out of this one on his own. He was insanely strong and ridiculously fast, but it looked like Buggy had put enough distance between them that Zoro's chances were nil.

_He's just another stupid pirate who is going to die. I should leave all these disgusting criminals to their games and just get out of here!_ And yet her feet refused to move. She looked around wildly, hoping for anything she could use to distract Buggy long enough to let Zoro flee.

Movement on the other side of the warehouse caught her eyes and before she could avert her gaze from the evidence of her sin, she saw what was there.

Her jaw dropped.

And then a shaky smile wobbled across her features.

* * *

"Well now, isn't this a surprise? Two executions in one day!" Buggy threw one of his hands back to gesture at the massive cannon behind him. "And I even get to use my favorite Buggy Balls for round two! Ahaha!" He placed his other hand on his hip and gave Zoro a derisive grin, "Any last words, 'Pirate Hunter'?"

Zoro sucked air in like he was going to reply, but then his gaze flickered to Buggy's right and narrowed.

Buggy glared at him in confusion until he heard-

"Buggy-sama!"

Nami was breathless as she ran up to him. Buggy eyed her with distaste and leaned back as she came closer, "Nami? Where the hell have you been?"

Nami leaned on her knees, saying between breaths, "I thought… Someone should guard the back door…" She dumped a bloodstained cloth bag at his feet, a bloodied dagger clattering to the ground next to it. She turned her head up to give the man a simpering look, tamping all her rage and disgust deep, deep down. Then she gave him a satisfied smile, "I caught some bastard trying to sneak away with all of your money. So I took care of him the way I thought you would."

Buggy stared incredulously at the bag before his gaze raised suspiciously to rake over Nami. Her hands were indeed bloody. He could see flecks of crimson on her white button down and peppered across her face.

_If she's telling the truth…_ He eyed the bag. _But if she's not… _He gave her a satisfied smile back, "Oh-ho, well thank you, Nami. That was well done of you." He watched her expression carefully as she preened at the praise, but he couldn't detect anything other than sincerity.

Whether that was the case or not, his next step was clear. His eyelids lowered as he grinned and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, turning her to face Roronoa Zoro. "Nami, say hello to our second guest of the day." He gestured with his free hand, as if the only man left standing on that side of the warehouse wasn't who he was obviously talking about, and continued, "Roronoa Zoro, the so-called 'Pirate Hunter'. It seems he's here to collect bounties."

Nami rested her wrist on her hip, "Hmph. That's not all, Buggy-sama. He's the only other member of my old boss's crew. I bet he came here to get him back." She took several steps forward, Buggy's suit jacket swinging as she stepped out from beneath his arm.

She stared smugly at Zoro, "You're too late, swordsman." She raised her hand flippantly in front of her, as if brushing something away, "Luffy is already dead." She leaned forward slightly and said with quiet menace, "I shot him myself."

Zoro's eyes widened, and then they immediately narrowed again. He deliberately dropped his white sword Wado Ichimonji from his mouth into his hand and said, "That damn idiot. I told Luffy we shouldn't trust you. Nothing good comes from trusting a thieving witch."

"Hah!" Nami turned and strutted back to Buggy, draping her arms over one of his shoulders and leaning on him, "Only a thieving witch to weak mean like you and that kid. I only take orders from _real_ men."

Buggy hummed thoughtfully, "Nami's one of us now, Roronoa." He grinned suddenly, "And I think I know the perfect way to execute you." He placed a gloved hand on Nami's white-clad back and turned her toward the cannon, producing a box of matches in his other hand. "Nami, you deserve the honor of wiping out the rest of your old crew, don't you think?"

Nami felt a thrill of fear that she struggled to contain, but she could feel his eyes on her so she chuckled nervously and said, "Me? Oh, you honor me too much today, Buggy-sama." She took the proffered matchbox and pivoted slowly on her heel as she came to the back of the cannon so she could face the fuse. And her target.

Zoro would just have to be fast enough.

* * *

Coby watched the scene play out before him and caught the flash of light off of whatever Nami showed Zoro when she appeared to be taunting him.

Realizing what it must be, he started working his way around to the back of the cannon.

He needed to be as close to Nami as possible, as soon as possible.

* * *

Zoro didn't waste time. He started walking toward the cannon slowly, drawing everyone's gaze to him. Buggy narrowed his eyes suspiciously and nonchalantly sauntered around so that he was behind the cannon as he spoke, "What's this, now? Are you coming to _beg_, Roronoa? Beg for you life?"

Zoro sheathed all three of his swords and gave him a devilish grin, "Not in a million years, Buggy the Clown." He kept walking closer slowly, each step deliberate.

Half of the minions who had wheeled the cannon out raised their guns. "That's close enough, Pirate Hunter!" one of them called. A series of clicks resounded as they all cocked their weapons. Buggy started laughing, "Oh, this is too rich! If you're not coming to beg for your life, then are you hoping you'll be shot full of holes before we explode you? Is that it?" He placed a hand on the thick iron tube of his cannon, "Are you afraid of my wonderful Buggy Balls?"

"Hmph. 'Buggy Balls'? What the hell are those?" Zoro slid his hands into the pockets of his black slacks, shoulders relaxing as his grin widened, "I don't think I'll worry too much about something that has such a ridiculous name." He snickered and muttered, "Buggy Balls? Really?"

Several of the men stepped forward menacingly and Zoro finally came to a stop, half-ringed by guns. His gaze slid contemplatively over each of them, that easy smile still gracing his features. "You sure you want to do this? Your boss seems to be missing something."

They each stared at him in confusion, but didn't turn around. They weren't _that _stupid.

"HEY BIG-NOSE!"

But _that_ got their attention. They all spun to stare with horror at the source of the shout.

Even as he laughed, Zoro made sure they paid dearly for the lapse.

* * *

Buggy barely had time to turn toward the voice, _There's no way-_

Then he got a blow to the small of his back that threw him to his hands and knees. Twisting to look at his assailant, he hissed at Nami, "You're _dead_, girl."

She stuck her tongue out at him, then turned tail and ran toward Roronoa, snagging the bag of cash off the ground with her staff as she went.

"CLOWN-FAAAAACE!"

Buggy gritted his teeth and spun to look toward the voice again, but all he met was a fist to the cheek that sent him flying a few dozen feet across the floor. He rolled until his back slammed into a bunch of crates, smashing through them. _What the hell?!_ He coughed and spit blood from where he'd bit his cheek during his roll, struggling to sit up. _Just who is this kid?! Those fools weren't just being idiots when they said he was crazy strong for a first-year._ He leaned forward to drape his arm over his raised knee, panting to catch his breath.

And there stood Luffy, laughing triumphantly by the cannon, some pink-haired kid standing agape behind him. Buggy scanned the warehouse, but it looked like all of his men were down for the count. He growled, _Useless pieces of trash. If only I hadn't sent Cabaji and Mohji to make that delivery today. These punks wouldn't stand a chance against the three of us._

He watched as the four of them converged around Roronoa, the straw-hatted oaf laughing as he slapped a hand on the swordsman's back. Buggy eyed the green-haired man's jerk reaction with interest.

He smiled and stood.

* * *

"Hahahaha! Zoro! Nami!" Luffy walked toward them and slapped Zoro on the back as he came closer.

Zoro's eyes bulged and his entire body tensed as black started to creep around his vision again. He swung an arm at his captain, but the boy dodged it easily. Zoro hissed out, "What the hell!" His other hand clutched at his chest and he bent forward as carefully as he could, taking breaths in through his nose, out through his mouth.

"Eh?" Luffy tilted his head curiously, "Hmm." He rubbed his chin contemplatively, brows furrowed in puzzlement, then he turned to say over his shoulder, "Hey Coby."

Coby trotted up to them and peered at Zoro, "Zoro-senpai!" He bent to get a better look at his chest and gently pulled Zoro's hand away from his ribs. Noting the blood on his lips, Coby frowned and said over his shoulder without looking away, "Luffy-senpai, Zoro-senpai needs real medical attention. I can try to patch him up for transport to a hospital, but it's not going to be enough if we don't get him to a doctor." Coby started unbuttoning Zoro's blood-splattered shirt so that he could get a better look at his chest to see what kind of skin coloration he had over his ribs.

Instead, it gave him the perfect vantage point to watch a knife tip push itself out of his abdomen as he was stabbed from behind.

Coby and Nami both yelled.


	7. The Drug

**Disclaimer: **I do not own One Piece or the characters, those belong solely to the beautiful brain of Eiichiro Oda.

* * *

**Chapter 7: The Drug**

* * *

"Zoro!" Luffy's eyes widened at the spray of blood that came from his swordsman. Coby had fallen backward, jaw dropping as his eyes slid behind Zoro and saw… Nothing.

There was no one there. Had the knife been thrown?

Nami stood a few feet behind Zoro, hands covering her mouth in horror. She seemed to be staring at the knife in his back, but rather than moving closer, she appeared to be backing away, heeled boots scuffing along the gritty concrete as she did. Something in her expression changed as she stared and she spun with fury to eye the rest of the warehouse, raising her staff in a defensive position as she tried to split her attention between Zoro and their surroundings. She clenched her teeth and ground out, "The bastard has taken Devil Fruit!"

Buggy's cackling echoed from the other side of the warehouse and there was an awful squelching noise as the knife retracted from Zoro's back. The green-haired man groaned and stumbled forward a step, landing heavily on one knee as he wheezed. Coby started to scramble toward him to try to staunch the bleeding, but he paused as his gaze was drawn by quick movement behind Zoro-

There was a disembodied hand holding the bloodied knife that had just withdrawn from Zoro's back.

_This isn't happening, this isn't happening!_

Coby felt his gorge rising, but he choked the feeling down. _This isn't happening!_ The hand continued to recede and Coby crawled closer to Zoro. His hands hovered around the wound, but he knew they wouldn't be enough. Eyes scanning frantically, he muttered, "Oh, screw it!" and started pulling off his shirt. He wadded it up and pressed it firmly into the hole in the swordsman's stomach. Zoro merely grunted and slapped his own hand over the cloth as well. "Get… My jacket…" Coby nodded and worked on pulling Zoro's jacket off, careful not to tug too tightly for fear of damaging the already half-broken man.

He had just shoved the wad of black fabric against the hole in Zoro's back when Zoro shifted, glancing up at his captain as he said, "Luffy…" Luffy's fists clenched reflexively as he locked eyes with him. A half-assed grin cracked its way across Zoro's face as he muttered, "Your turn."

It didn't quite call for blood, but something about it made Coby glad Luffy's devilish smile wasn't directed at him.

* * *

Buggy felt a flush of satisfaction as Zoro dropped. It had taken more effort to stab him than he'd thought it would, but it was entirely worth having to sneak his hand past Nami. It was regrettable that he hadn't been able to stab two of them at a time, but at least this would keep them distracted.

_Now, on to the next one…_ He frowned as his gaze turned to the straw-hatted oaf. He was _certain_ that he'd shot the kid dead center in the forehead, so why was he still alive? Had Nami somehow altered the shot? Had the kid merely been playing along when his head whipped back like that?

Something about this stank.

He wiggled his fingers contemplatively as his right hand reattached to his wrist. _No matter. I'll just have to do it by hand this time._ He chuckled quietly to himself at his own joke, then started forward, intent on choosing the battleground himself.

This was going to be _fun_.

* * *

"Nami."

"What?" she snapped without turning around. She was cranky. Stealing from a crime lord? Sure. Beating up a pirate? Why not?

Taking on someone with full-blown Devil Fruit powers? Hard pass. That drug was a bane to the existence of every normal human being on the planet. Especially since its effects were unique and unknowable until someone had taken it. Even then, it could be difficult to catalogue what the exact change was. She'd heard rumors that some people even turned into animals, but she hadn't credited them with much truth.

But disembodied hands? Maybe she should revise her opinions of those rumors after all.

She heard steps behind her and then Luffy was walking past, stretching his neck from side to side as he loosened his muscles. He shucked his black jacket and tossed it behind him, somehow managing to drape it over Nami's staff as he said, "Stay with Zoro." She frowned at his dusty jacket, then raised brown eyes to watch his receding back, "Where are you going? I told you, he's taken Devil Fruit! We should be running away, not fighting!"

"We wouldn't get away," Luffy replied, crouching on one leg to stretch out the other. He switched to the other side. "He attacked from across the warehouse."

Nami flinched and clenched her teeth, but continued to press, "You can't win, Luffy! I don't know how you managed to survive the bullet, but fighting a Devil Fruit user head-on is going to get you killed!"

He turned and grinned widely at her, "Then so be it! But"-he pulled his arm across his chest in a stretch as he turned to face the rest of the warehouse again-"I don't think I'll die."

Nami's surge of frustration was immediately doused by Buggy's voice coming from before them, "Is that so, punk? And what gives you that idea?"

He was leaning back nonchalantly against a stack of crates, silver blade flashing in the harsh light as he twirled his knife expertly in his right hand. His left arm was tucked across his chest as if his arms had been crossed. His gaze slid to watch them sidelong, a subtle grin tugging at his lips, "Miss me, Nami?"

She took a subconscious step back, raising her staff a little bit higher, shaking it until Luffy's jacket finally hissed to the floor in a heap. Buggy chuckled, but didn't move any closer, merely shifting his focus back to the spinning knife in front of him.

Luffy started walking toward him, his flip-flops slapping the concrete and echoing back from the stacks of wooden boxes around them. Buggy turned his head slightly to look at the boy and smirked, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Luffy ignored him, flexing his hands and rolling his wrists as he came closer.

Buggy's bright blue ponytail fell over his shoulder as he tilted his head and said in a sing-song voice, "Don't say I didn't warn you~"

There was a clatter of wood behind him and Luffy glanced back to find Nami hovering several inches off the ground, legs kicking as she clawed at the hand wrapped around her throat. His eyes widened and his mouth firmed as he turned back to Buggy. The man had taken a few steps forward, holding his arms out in a shrug, waving his knife in his right hand and showing that his left arm ended at his wrist. "You kids just never lis-"

Luffy ran forward and decked him across the face.

Buggy snorted as he stumbled back several feet until he landed on his ass, the knife dropping from his hand as he clutched at his face. There was a gasp and a thud as Nami was released and she sucked in a breath, landing in a heap on the floor. She coughed raspily, one hand hovering around her throat and the other planted firmly on the ground to prop her up as her body heaved for air. Her hand inched toward her staff until she could wrap her fingers around it firmly, then she slammed one end of it into the concrete and used it to help herself stand up. But she wasn't the only one getting back up.

"Now you've made me mad, you little shit." Buggy wiped his left thumb across his cheek and examined the fresh blood staining his white glove with irritation. He raised his gaze back up to glare at Luffy as he got back to his feet, "I've been going easy on you punks but now I'm getting serious." He grinned wickedly as he pulled several more knives from his pockets, holding them between his fingers so they protruded like claws.

"You've made a mess of my warehouse, killed my men, taken out a business partner, screwed with me"-his eyes flicked to Nami-"and tried to steal my money." His yellow eyes turned back to Luffy and the corner of his lip lifted in disgust, "And that damn straw hat reminds me too much of that shithead Shanks."

Luffy's fists lowered slightly, eyes widening, "You know Shanks?!"

Buggy snorted derisively, "Know him? I was on the same crew as him, back in the day. Until that piece of crap ruined my life!" He pointed one knife-riddled hand at Luffy's head, "I tricked the crew into thinking I'd taken the Devil Fruit pills we'd gotten from a raid and was about to make off with the real ones when he startled me and I actually swallowed them! I was so surprised that I fell off the ship and into the water and he had to pull me out because I couldn't swim anymore."

Luffy tilted his head curiously, expression puzzled, "So… he saved your life?"

Buggy's face contorted in fury and he shouted, "HE WOULDN'T HAVE HAD TO SAVE ME IF HE HADN'T MADE ME SWALLOW THOSE PILLS!" He sucked in a breath between clenched teeth, closing his eyes momentarily to calm himself. Opening them again into slits, he hissed, "But it sounds like you know him. Why is that, punk? How are you connected to that man?"

Luffy grinned and pulled his hat off to look at it, "Shanks gave me this. It's my treasure."

"_Pfft_." Luffy looked up in puzzlement at Buggy and the man burst into full-blown laughter, "You… You call that _treasure_? Hahaha!" Buggy shook his head, a condescending grin on his face. "You poor sod. I don't know what Shanks told you, but that ratty thing is nothing but trash."

"Hrm," Luffy grumbled, shoving his hat back on his head with a grumpy frown and raising his fists again. He shifted his feet as he prepared to close the distance between them.

Buggy waved a disembodied hand, "Ah, ah, ah. None of that, now. You pieces of shit have royally screwed me over all afternoon and it's time I taught you a lesson." He grinned.

Luffy stared, mouth slightly agape, as Buggy's entire torso detached from his hips and raised itself into the air. The crinkled ends of his white shirt dangled next to the edges of his cheap black suit jacket.

Buggy narrowed his eyes and flicked his gaze to look past the straw-hatted brat in front of him, "Now to get some payback."

Dark hair swayed as Luffy turned to watch Buggy flash over him, the man's blue ponytail streaming behind him as he shot past and yelled gleefully, "NAMIIIIIII!"

Nami screamed.

* * *

Garp eyed the manilla folders doubtfully, "Ulterior motive…?"

Bogard leaned forward some more and replied quietly, "If you read between the lines, it makes quite a bit of sense. This one"-he gestured to another of the folders-"has the experience he'd need. And these two"-he pointed to the other two folders-"seem to have unexpected connections. On the surface, it looks like a hodge-podge group of hooligans, but if you consider the smaller signs then it's very possible that Luffy is putting together this team with a specific purpose in mind."

Garp leaned back to glare at the folders on his desk, then sat down heavily in his leather chair. "Hmm." He settled his elbows on the polished wood and linked his fingers in front of him. "Planning something this elaborate doesn't sound like him though."

Bogard shrugged, relaxing back into his chair, "I admit it's a tad unusual for him, but I've been considering his past, ah, shall we say 'exploits', and I've found a remarkable trend."

Garp's brows raised curiously but he didn't reply, so Bogard continued, "He acts like an idiot most of the time, but I'm wondering if it's a facade. The overarching consequences of his actions have been surprisingly in his favor for it to all have been unintentional."

Leather creaked as Garp leaned back into his chair, stroking his trimmed gray beard contemplatively, "I suppose you do have a point…" He reached forward and picked up one of the folders, opening it to scan the contents again. He grunted. "I can see what you mean by unexpected connections." His eyes raised to watch Bogard from over the top of the folder, "But if he really is planning something, then why is he skipping his classes and ditching followers so well? You said we weren't the only ones trying to track him."

"If he's planning what I think he's planning, then he would need time to scout and prepare without being followed. And the scouting would have to be done during all different times of the day, which may also explain why he hasn't come home since starting school."

A deep hum rumbled from Garp and he went back to scanning the folder skeptically.

* * *

Coby glanced up at Nami's scream and felt his heart stutter at the sight before him.

_This isn't happening!_

His breath quickened as Nami fled to the other end of the warehouse, Buggy's hysterically laughing torso following her through the air. He was swaying side to side like he was dancing as he called after her, "Oh Nami deaaaar~"

Coby slapped his hands over his ears and turned back to Zoro. _Nope! This isn't happening!_ Ignoring everything else, Coby went back to his work. Zoro was laid out on the ground, a red stain seeping into the gray concrete now that it had soaked through his jacket. The swordsman was breathing slowly and shallowly, chest barely lifting as air went in and out of his lungs. Coby had finally gotten a good look at his ribs and wasn't pleased. The distorted flesh and green and purple skin indicated that his broken ribs had shifted way out of place. Zoro hadn't coughed any more blood, but Coby was concerned that one of his ribs might have managed to puncture a lung.

Of course, none of that would matter if he didn't get these holes closed. The amount of blood he'd lost had already made Zoro several shades paler than his usual tan glow. Coby picked the needle back up and pinched the skin shut again with his bloodied hand. Zoro merely grunted at the sensation.

Coby took a steadying breath and whispered apologetically, "Sorry, Zoro-senpai…!"

Zoro clenched his fists and hissed as Coby continued to stitch him up.

* * *

_What the hell!_ Nami dodged around a stack of crates and careened down another corridor of boxes, heeled boots screeching as they slid across the gritty concrete. Buggy's laughter still trailed her. She glanced back, only to find him _much _closer than she thought he'd been.

"NAMIIIII~"

She faced forward again and shouted back "NOOOOOOO! LEAVE ME ALOOOONE!"

* * *

Luffy stared after Nami's and Buggy's retreating backs in confusion. He scratched absently at his cheek and frowned, eyes following the sounds the two were making as Nami fled throughout the warehouse.

His finger froze on his cheek as he paused suddenly and blinked, then turned back to look behind him.

He grinned.

* * *

"AHAHAHA, NAM-EEEEEE!"

There was a thump and clattering behind her, but it was several more steps before Nami decided to look back.

Buggy's torso had collapsed onto the floor, his face twisted and a high pitched squeal leaking from his mouth. "What…?" Nami stared at him. His knives were scattered about him, although it was a pity he hadn't managed to land on any of them. She eyed him warily, making sure all of his body parts were still there and relieved to find them all in the right places. _Is this some kind of trick?_ She watched his twitching half-body for a moment, then squared her shoulders with determination and started running again.

Back toward him.

She didn't bother slowing down as she got closer. Three steps.

Two.

One.

She gritted her teeth and kicked him in the face with all her might.

* * *

Luffy glanced back up when he heard a tremendous crash. Pieces of wood and rope flew through the air nearby. He stood up a little straighter, placing his leg back on the ground after delivering a kick to Buggy's lower half.

A panting Nami rounded the corner of another of the ubiquitous stacks of boxes and braced a hand against them as she caught her breath. Her blue tie had come loose from its golden pin and gently waved in front of her with every breath. She seemed to be favoring her right leg, some blood smeared on the pale skin of her shin.

Luffy grinned and waved at her, "Hey, Nami!"

She glared at him, mouth opening to berate him for leaving her to be chased alone, but then her brown eyes dropped to the ground behind him and found the toppled over shape of Buggy's hips and legs. She closed her mouth and stared at it in puzzlement, then raised her gaze back to him. _Maybe he's not so stupid after all…_ She rolled her ankle experimentally and, satisfied, starting walking toward Luffy slowly.

Reaching his side, she placed a hand on her hip and surveyed the warehouse. There were bodies everywhere, blood staining the concrete and providing a coppery counterpoint to the scent of hot dust and broken wood in the air. The many shattered crates had dumped various goods on the floor, from now-broken sacks of flour to clothing to a heap of guns.

Both halves of Buggy still appeared to be down for the count. They hadn't so much as twitched since being struck and Nami felt a tension ease from her shoulders. _I can't believe we survived!_ She glanced up as Luffy turned and headed to their left, back to where Coby was stitching up Zoro. Nami hesitated for a moment, _I'm the one who got them into this mess… _Would she be welcome?

Then she saw her sack of cash near the green and pink-haired boys and immediately followed Luffy.

Catching up to him, she trotted alongside him, hands clasped behind her back, asking curiously, "How'd you do it? Did you dodge?"

"Huh?" Luffy turned his head to look at her blankly.

Nami resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "Getting shot. How did you avoid it?"

"Oh!" Luffy grinned. "I didn't. He hit me right in the forehead." He tapped the spot with his finger for emphasis, then crouched over Zoro as they came upon the two.

Nami rolled her eyes and stared at his back, lips pursed. _He's bullshitting me. He wouldn't be alive after a shot to the head. _

She didn't like mysteries.

* * *

Zoro's eyes slit open as a shadow dropped over him and he grinned weakly, facing his captain, "What took you so long?"

Luffy chuckled, resting his elbows on his knees and rocking back on his heels. "How's it going?"

Coby sighed heavily and Luffy turned his head to the right to get a better look at what the other boy was doing. Zoro's stomach was smeared in blood, but it looked like Coby had managed to get the exit wound stitched closed. It was still leaking a bit, but it was significantly better than before.

Even so, Coby grimaced and said quietly, "Luffy-senpai, I still need to get the other side closed, but I'm afraid to lay him on his stomach on account of his ribs." He pushed his glasses up, leaving a bloody fingerprint on the thick blue bridge as he scanned Zoro's chest.

Luffy frowned thoughtfully and cocked his head, eyeing Zoro as well, expression curious. Then he reached forward and grasped Zoro's shoulders and heaved the man up into a sitting position. Zoro's face twisted, eyes widening. "Urck!"

"Luffy-senpai, what-"

Luffy tugged Zoro toward him, careful not to put pressure on anything other than his shoulders, and peered over his back until he could see the wound there. Then he turned to grin back at Coby, "Will this work?"

Coby stared at him, mouth hanging open. Zoro's face indicated his ribs might have shifted again, but he was still conscious so it probably hadn't been too bad. He appeared to be gritting his teeth though, so they shouldn't keep him in this position for too long… Coby squared his bare shoulders and grabbed his tools as he scooted around behind Zoro. "This will have to do. I'll get it shut as quickly as I can!"

There was a scuff behind them and Luffy turned to watch Nami walk back toward them after picking her staff up from where she'd dropped it when Buggy had started chasing her. She broke it down into three pieces and slotted each piece into a holster on her thigh under her skirt. Luffy's gaze followed her as she passed them and picked up her bag of money, slinging it over her shoulder by the straps.

He stared quietly as she faced them and waved her hand, "I'm out of here. See you guys later."

Zoro's eyes slid to the side, though his view was blocked by Luffy's head. "Where do you think you're going?" His voice was quiet, nearly inaudible, but Nami slowed to a stop nonetheless.

She tilted her head to look over her shoulder and give them a sly smile, "What do you mean? We teamed up to steal Buggy's money and did just that." She hoisted her shoulder and the bag slung over it for emphasis, then continued walking. "Our partnership is over." She turned her head to smile wickedly at them one last time as she finished, "See you guys around."

Zoro scowled but didn't say anything more as Luffy merely laughed.

* * *

"Done!" Coby wiped his forehead, careful not to get blood from his hands on his face, and smiled. "Now we should get you to a hospital, Zoro-senpai."

He starting stuffing his tools back in his backpack. _I can clean this all up later, but right now we should get out of here as quickly as possible._ Tucking each item into various pockets, he continued, "Luffy-senpai, can you help me get him up?"

He was surprised to hear Zoro answer, "I think that's going to have to wait, Coby."

Coby glanced behind him to see Zoro now leaning back, hand thrown behind him to prop himself up. Luffy had stood and was ignoring them, facing the rest of the warehouse where the still shadows of bodies were scattered across the concrete.

Except one of those shadows was moving.

Coby felt his heart rise into his throat as a large shadow rose and the clank of iron on concrete echoed throughout the warehouse. He scrambled to his feet, bare chest heaving with his quickened breaths, and stared wide-eyed as Alvida struggled to her feet.

Her white cowboy hat was askew and her wavy black hair tumbled messily over the shoulders of her jean jacket. The streaks of pale dust along her pink plaid shirt gave the impression of cuts in the cloth, though Zoro had been careful not to give her any. Her pointed red fingernails clicked against her iron weapon as she planted a hand on the handle to brace herself.

She turned her angry gaze on the three boys in front of her and immediately honed in on-"COBYYYYY!"

The boy flinched, shivers traveling up his spine, sweat popping out along his skin. "EEEEK!"

Alvida gave him a greasy smile and pointed her free hand at Luffy, "What do you think you're doing, Coby? Who gives you a place to sleep every night? Him? No." She jerked her thumb at herself, "It's ME. You'd be dead on the streets by now if I hadn't taken you in, you brat." Her voice dropped, "So you had better take this fool out before I get _really _mad."

Coby turned slowly to face Luffy, finding the other boy smiling, hands propped on his hips laxly. He opened his mouth, trying to say something, anything to Luffy, but no sound was coming out.

There was a clank as Alvida lifted her club and slammed the tip back into the ground to get their attention. "WHO'S THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN ON THE SEAS, COBY?"

"Y-y-y-y-y…" His gaze was drawn again to Luffy.

Luffy, who laughed and smiled through almost everything. Luffy, who had taken on a Devil Fruit user because the man had hurt his friend. Luffy, who pursued his dream to become the Pirate King even though he was stuck at the World Justice Academy. Luffy, who was walking toward Alvida with that easy smile still on his face.

Luffy, who grinned in the face of death.

Coby's shoulders tightened and he clenched his eyes shut, took a deep breath, and shouted with all his might, "NOT YOU, YOU OLD UGLY HAG! I'M-I'M-" He sucked in another breath, "I'M GOING TO BECOME A MARINE AND ARREST EVIL PIRATES LIKE YOU!"

Luffy burst out laughing and turned to face Coby, "Well said!"

Coby's eyes widened as Alvida lifted her mace and swung down toward that straw hat. His arms flew forward of their own volition and he shouted with panic, "Luffy-senpai, look out!"

The club landed, pushing Luffy into the ground. But then it stopped and Luffy was crouching, a different smile on his face, appearing for all the world as if he was fine.

How had his skull not cracked? Why wasn't he bleeding?

"Heh heh," Luffy shoved upward, knocking the club back into the air and throwing Alvida off balance, then spun with his momentum to face the woman. Throwing both arms behind his back until they looked strangely elongated, he stepped forward and brought them forward again to slam the heels of his palms into Alvida's stomach, sending her flying across the floor despite her bulk. She skidded over the concrete, white shorts ripping as she tumbled. She didn't get back up.

Luffy dusted his hands off with a satisfied chuckle and walked back toward Coby. The pink-haired boy stared at him, mouth agape, "Ho-Ho-How are you…?" Luffy chuckled and clapped a hand on his bare shoulder, pausing a moment to grin at his speechless friend before continuing past him. Crouching, he slung Zoro's arm over his shoulder and hoisted the swordsman to his feet, inadvertently knocking his straw hat off in the process.

"Ah! My hat!" He started to drop Zoro's arm off his shoulders so he could turn to pick it up, but Coby dashed forward first, "I'll get it!" He picked the hat up carefully, then scurried to his backpack and snatched it up as well, slinging both straps over his bare shoulders until it rested comfortably on his back.

Luffy stood there for a moment and blinked blankly at him, Zoro's arm only half-draped over his shoulder.

Coby held the hat against his chest and smiled, "I'll keep it safe!"

Luffy returned his smile, then tugged Zoro's arm more securely over his shoulder, "Alright, then!"

Unfortunately, he only took two steps forward before something rustled on the other side of the warehouse. They all paused and turned to face toward the right, eyes drawn to the coughing figure before them.

It took a moment, but after clearing his throat, Buggy snarled, "STRAW HAT!" His voice seemed a little higher pitch than normal, his face pale with a coating of dust. He was whole again, all one coherent piece of human, and pointed a hand the boys imperiously, "HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME?! HOW DARE YOU DESTROY MY WAREHOUSE?! YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS!"

The corner of Luffy's lip pulled down in a slight frown and he let out a sigh. He started to step out from under Zoro's arm, but paused as he felt the man shift his weight onto his own feet and take a few steps forward.

Zoro cocked a grin, sweat dripping down his face, "You want more, clown?" He rested a heavy hand on the hilts of his katanas.

Buggy sneered, "Oh, the fearsome Pirate Hunter, Roronoa Zoro! As if you could beat me. You look half-dead, punk." His sneer morphed into an angry grin, "How about I help you become _all_ dead? In fact…" He turned his gaze to Coby, "Why don't I make you both dead?"

His hands detached from his body, knives suddenly appearing in his grips, and sped toward them as he cackled.

Zoro gripped the white hilt of Wado Ichimonji more tightly, teeth gritting as he braced himself. Coby shrieked, grip tightening reflexively on Luffy's hat as goosebumps rashed up his arms and across his torso, eyes riveted to the disembodied hand flying toward him.

Then there was a BOOM behind them, a flash of something large and red speeding past, and suddenly the half of the warehouse they'd been facing was gone.

Coby stared, eyes wide and jaw hanging. The entire far wall of the warehouse was gone, as were the smaller ships Alvida's crew had used to dock in front of it. Planks of wood, pieces of rope, and strips of cloth floated on the gray sea, waves rocking out to either side from the path of the projectile.

Turning ever so slowly, Coby looked sideways at Zoro and met the swordsman's eyes as he did the same, Coby's face mirrored on the older man's. In unison, they spun their gazes behind them to find Luffy standing behind Buggy's cannon, one hand held horizontally to his forehead as he peered at the hole, mouth a round 'O',"Wheeeeew! They went pretty far, didn't they?"

_They?_ Coby blinked, then whipped back to look at the hole and realized the forms of both Alvida and Buggy were nowhere to be seen. _Did… Did he just blast them out of the way?_

Zoro grunted and dropped to a sit, one leg propped up and his arm draped over it as he chuckled shallowly and covered his face with his hand. "Dammit, Luffy. I was going to collect their bounties."

Luffy chuckled and grinned, "Ahh, sorry, sorry."

Zoro snickered, then sighed, but said nothing more.

Coby felt like he was going to pass out. Who the hell _were_ these people?

_This isn't happening!_


	8. The Axe Falls

**Disclaimer: **I do not own One Piece or the characters, those belong solely to the beautiful brain of Eiichiro Oda.

* * *

**Chapter 8: The Axe Falls**

* * *

"Sir! One of the pirates woke up!"

Captain "Axe-Hand" Morgan slid his eyes to look at the soldier sideways, "Good. Bring him to me."

Being on call for duty at the docks was beneath him, but at least it got him out of teaching. Even if the men working under him were a pack of imbeciles, it was better than being in charge of a bunch of sniveling brats. _Although the brats do make for excellent manual labor for my statue._

He was pulled from his thoughts as a man was dumped in front of him, the Alvida Pirates symbol blazoned on the back of the man's shirt, though it was smeared in blood and dust. Morgan's eyes narrowed and he shoved a heavy booted foot between the man's shoulder blades, forcing his chest into the concrete.

"What the hell happened here?"

The pirate winced, but was able to choke out, "It-It was the Pirate Hunter…! He came to take Alvida-sama's and Buggy-sama's bounties…"

Morgan eyed the downed pirates around him, noting the slashes through their clothes and skin. _Pirate Hunter… Where have I heard that name before?_ He grunted, _It sounds like something I've heard at the Academy. Perhaps a former student…? I'll have to get someone to look it up. _Satisfied with that course of action, he turned his gaze back to the pirate and said, "Very well."

He stepped off the man's back, letting him take a relieved sigh—before the marine lifted his right arm and swung, planting his axe very solidly through Alvida's symbol and the bone and flesh beneath it.

"S-SIR!" The marine who had brought him the pirate stared at the bleeding body incredulously. "That was a prisoner, sir!" He turned his eyes to Morgan and squared his jaw, "You can't just kill prisoners!"

Morgan felt his eye twitch. "I can't just kill him?" he said quietly, his iron jaw masking some of the sound. "_I_ can't kill him?" He faced the marine fully, voice raising, "You dare tell _me_ what to do, you piece of worthless trash?"

The marine tensed, but held his ground, fists clenched as he stared up at the hulking form of the captain. He could take a fight.

Unfortunately, what he could not take was an axe to the chest, which is exactly what he got.

A thick silence descended upon the warehouse as all movement ceased. Morgan wiped the blood from his axe with a cloth tied at his waist, then tossed the bloodied fabric on the body in front of him.

"Who the hell said you could stop working!" he shouted, causing the marines to jump. Silver flashed along his axe-hand from the warehouse lights as he pointed at the soldiers, "GET BACK TO WORK! I DON'T WANT A SINGLE PIECE OF CONTRABAND LEFT IN THIS WAREHOUSE!"

He grunted as the other marines hopped to it, picking up the pace from before. _These idiots clearly needed to be reminded of who's in charge._ He rubbed thoughtfully at his right elbow, the reinforced joint aching from the wet, foggy weather. _This is a good haul, though. It will make for a great contribution to my plans._

He walked to the officer he'd placed in charge of cataloguing everything and asked, "How much is all of this worth?"

The man visibly flinched, sweat popping out along the side of his face and the back of his neck. He lifted a trembling hand to flip through the sheets on the clipboard he was holding. "It-it-it-"

Morgan growled, "Spit it out."

The man gulped, "Yes, sir! It looks like at least twenty-five thousand berries so far, sir! It looks like we've collected about half of the contraband, so I estimate it's fifty thousand berries total, sir!"

Morgan smiled, though it was difficult to see behind the iron half of his jaw. "Good." He pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to the other man, "See to it that it ends up at this warehouse."

_Yes, fifty thousand will make a very nice contribution to my plans indeed._

* * *

Coby couldn't believe what he was hearing. "But Zoro-senpai, you really need to go to a hospital!"

Zoro leaned on the railing and took another step up, wincing. "I just need to sleep, Coby."

Coby felt the intense urge to pull his hair out, "_NO_, you need a _HOSPITAL!"_ He turned desperately to Luffy and pointed at Zoro as he said, "Luffy-senpai, talk some sense into him! If he doesn't get to a real medical professional and get himself treated then he could wind up with lasting damage!"

Luffy frowned and glanced at Zoro, who was dragging himself another step up the narrow stairway toward his apartment. His open white button-down was drenched in sweat and had soaked up a fair amount of blood, a thin trickle of crimson trailing from his stitches and down his back, soaking into the black waist of his pants. "Hmmmm." Luffy tilted his head, still frowning. Zoro slid just his eyes to glance back at him and Luffy shrugged and smiled, "Just let him sleep, Coby."

"NOT YOU TOO!" Coby buried his face in his hands and moaned, "What's _wrong_ with you two? You're not normal!"

Luffy laughed and clapped a hand on Coby's shoulder as he passed him and started up the stairs behind Zoro.

Coby sighed and eventually followed them. By the time he made it to the room, Zoro was getting ready to sit on the bed. Coby threw his hands forward and shouted, "No, no, no!"

Pausing, Zoro stared at him, chest moving slowly with each weary breath. He frowned, "What? I'm not going to the hospital, Coby."

Coby shoved his glasses up the bridge of his nose and glared at the swordsman, "Fine, if you're going to be stubborn about it then you can just sleep. But let me disinfect and bandage it up first so that you don't get blood poisoning." He started taking off his backpack and continued as he pulled supplies out, "And we might as well re-wrap your ribs while we're at it. You don't want to leave them like that if you can help it."

Zoro sighed, then winced slightly as something in his chest shifted. He shuffled toward Coby and sat on the floor where the boy was pointing imperiously, taking his jacket and shirt off to leave his wounds open to access. As Coby worked, Zoro watched Luffy, who had climbed onto the top bunk of Johnny and Yosaku's bed and laid on his back, hanging his head upside-down over the edge. His straw hat was seemingly not beholden to the laws of physics and stayed secure atop his head. It hadn't moved an inch since Luffy had taken it back from Coby when they left the warehouse.

Luffy's eyes roved across the room, taking in the heaps of clothes, the various sword racks, the food wrappers strewn about the floor and across the beds, and the scrolls hanging on the walls. He paused as he looked at one and raised a hand to point at it, white sleeve rolled to his elbow, "What's that for?"

Zoro glanced at it, "That one?" At Luffy's nod, he smirked and continued, "That's Johnny's and Yosaku's hit list. Those are the bounties they plan on taking down." Zoro eyed the list then glanced back at Luffy, "He's had it up since before I got here."

"Hmm?" Luffy grinned and stared at it a little longer, then shrugged and rolled onto his stomach so that he could more easily peer down at Coby and Zoro, "How's it going?"

Coby's frown had deepened as he worked, "You should _go to a hospital_, but I suppose it can wait until tomorrow." He dabbed a soaked cotton ball on Zoro's back and the man jerked forward with a wince and a hiss. He clenched his teeth shut and groaned, body tense, then slowly exhaled through his nose and forcibly relaxed his shoulders. Coby held his free hand against Zoro's back and said absentmindedly, "Hold still, Zoro-senpai."

Luffy snickered, but trailed off into a silent grin at the glare Zoro shot him. Luffy's sandalled feet kicked softly at the ceiling where he was waving them behind him, chin resting on his forearms as he looked down from his perch.

So this was of course the most opportune time for Coby's cell phone to start ringing. Coby glanced at his bag, then eyed his bloodied hands with growing dismay. "Ah… I suppose they can leave a message…?"

Then Zoro's arm was reaching across him and quickly fished the phone out of the backpack. Flipping it open, he held it up to his ear and asked, "What do you want?" Coby's shoulders tensed and he hissed quietly, "_Zoro-senpai, that's not how you answer the phone!_"

Zoro was ignoring him in favor of the voice on the other end of the line, though. He frowned, eyes sliding to Coby, and said, "Coby's busy right now. What do you need?"

"_Zoro-senpai…!_"

Zoro's eyebrows rose and he turned to look at Luffy, still listening for a moment before he finally said, "Yeah… Yeah… Hang on." He subconsciously tilted the mouthpiece down and said, "Luffy, it's for you."

Luffy frowned in puzzlement, "Huh?" He did a forward roll off the top bunk, body flowing through the motion easily until he set his feet on the floor. He leaned forward and Zoro set the phone on speaker as Luffy placed one hand on his hip and said, that puzzled frown still on his face, "This is Luffy! I'm going to be the Pirate King! Who is this?"

Zoro nearly dropped the phone at the shout that came out of it.

"YOU LITTLE CRETIN, I TOLD YOU ALREADY, YOU'RE GOING TO BE A MARINE! WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN ALL THIS TIME?! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH TROUBLE YOU'RE IN?!"

Zoro and Coby stared at the phone in shock as Luffy grimaced and shouted back, "Grandpa?!"

_Grandpa?_

"DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH WORK IT TOOK TO TRACK YOU DOWN?! WHY HAVEN'T YOU COME HOME IN WEEKS?!"

They heard another voice faintly over the phone, "Garp-sama, maybe now is not-"

"YOU'VE BEEN SKIPPING CLASSES AND DESTROYING SCHOOL PROPERTY! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH WORK IT TOOK TO GET YOU ADMITTED?! THEY'RE GOING TO EXPEL YOU BEFORE THE SEMESTER IS OVER AT THIS RATE! AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THESE 'FRIENDS' OF YOURS! WHY ARE YOU HANGING OUT WITH A BUNCH OF HOOLIGANS AND CRIMINALS?! YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO MAKE IT TO ADMIRAL IF YOU KEEP THIS UP!"

Luffy leaned forward, that unusual grimace still on his face as he replied, "I don't want to be an admiral! I'm going to be a pirate!"

"_SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ME, BRAT!_ THAT DAMN SHANKS HAS FILLED YOUR HEAD WITH-"

"DON'T BADMOUTH SHANKS!"

"_**I'LL DO WHAT I WANT!**_"

There was an abrupt moment of silence as Garp and Luffy both heaved for breath. There was a grumble on the other end of the phone and then another voice spoke.

"Luffy-kun, are you still there?"

Luffy's frown changed, head tilting curiously, "Spy Man?"

"Yes, Luffy-kun, this is Bogard. May I surmise that Roronoa Zoro-kun is still there as well? He's the one who answered the phone, wasn't he?"

Zoro felt a headache coming. _Spy Man?_ His voice was subdued as he replied, "I'm here."

"LUFFY WHY ARE YOU WITH THESE HOOLIGAN-"

"Garp-sama!"

Garp made a nonsensical noise and his voice receded from the phone, still ranting. Bogard cleared his throat and continued, "I surmise Coby-kun is there as well, yes? This is indeed his phone?"

"Y-y-y-yes…!"

"Excellent. And Nami-san?"

Zoro clicked his tongue and glanced at Luffy's face. His captain was still frowning, but he looked more confused than anything else so Zoro replied, "The witch isn't here."

There was the slightest pause on the other end of the phone and then Bogard said, "I see. Well, Luffy-kun, you seem to be perfectly fine to me. Were the rumors I heard about Buggy the Clown holding court on you incorrect?"

Luffy frowned, "Eh? Buggy?" He tilted his head almost ninety degrees, then suddenly stood straight again and planted his fist in the palm of his hand, "Oh, you mean Big Nose? He shot me, so I beat him up!"

Zoro and Coby both glanced at Luffy, eyes scanning for any hint of injury but finding none. Zoro barely caught the satisfied sigh on the other end of the phone, but his attention was pulled back to the little black device as Garp's laughter boomed out of it.

"HAHAHAHA! You let yourself get shot, pipsqueak?!"

Luffy's eyes narrowed and he grumbled at the phone, lips pushed out in a pout, "Shut up, you old geezer!"

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Garp's laughter continued, but the sound receded again as he apparently walked away from the phone on his end. Bogard let loose a long-suffering sigh, "Luffy-kun, I know getting shot doesn't hurt, but you really should be more careful. You never know if an enemy will have a seastone bullet and you know those will hurt you."

Luffy hummed discontentedly to himself, but his face suddenly snapped out of its frown and back into his usual neutral expression as he asked, "Wait a second, why did you call Coby's phone, Spy Man?"

Zoro eyed the phone curiously at the slight embarrassment in Bogard's voice as he said, "Ah, well, since you left your phone at the house and we keep missing you at school—"

The faint laughter on the other end renewed itself with vigor.

"—anyway, when we heard about Buggy holding court, we figured it would be best to try to get in touch with you through one of your associates. Coby-kun's phone just happened to be the first number we tried."

Zoro felt his brow crease in further confusion. '_Associates'? _He eyed Luffy contemplatively. _They don't think…?_

He felt a disbelieving grin growing across his face.

Bogard cleared his throat again at their continued silence, "A-hem, since you seem to be fine then I suppose we should let you go."

There was crackling on the other end of the phone and then Garp's voice suddenly came through loud and clear, "When are you going to come home, pipsqueak? You haven't cleaned your room since school started and it smells like something died in there."

Zoro glanced at Luffy, who was staring at the phone with that same neutral expression on his face. Then Luffy reached forward and flipped the phone shut with a grin, ending the call.

Zoro eyed the phone for a moment as it started ringing again, then he chuckled and tossed it on the lower bunk bed carelessly. He closed his eyes and sighed out, then turned as he realized Coby had stopped applying disinfectant. "Hey, Coby, are you done y—" He paused, mouth shutting as he hummed curiously.

Coby's mouth was hanging open, eyes wide, his bare back smacked against the wall behind him.

"Coby?"

Coby ignored Zoro's question, but it did seem to snap him out of his shocked silence. He raised a trembling hand to point at Luffy (who had started walking around the room and touching things while Zoro wasn't looking) and muttered, "Grandpa…? Old geezer…? That… That wasn't…" He gulped, then got it all out with one breath, "Was that Vice Admiral Garp?! How are you related to him?!"

Luffy turned to face him, "Hm? The old geezer? He's my grandpa."

A strangled noise emanated from the back of Coby's throat, and then he suddenly smiled shakily and stared down at his hands, "Oh, he is? This… This explains so much…" His fists abruptly clenched and he was across the room in the blink of an eye, smacking Luffy in the back of the head, "WHY DIDN'T YOU MENTION THIS BEFORE?!"

Luffy merely started laughing and Coby growled at him, "Don't you think it would've been nice to let us know?!"

Luffy collapsed back onto Zoro's bed, clutching his stomach as he continued to laugh. Zoro's brow raised as he watched his captain, then he pulled his gaze to the pink-haired boy and asked, "Why are you so angry, Coby?"

Coby turned to him, face despondent, "Zoro-senpai, why are you not surprised? He's the grandson of a _Vice Admiral!_ How is that not important?!"

Zoro shrugged and carefully leaned back until his bare shoulders could rest on the wall behind him, "What difference does it make?"

Coby's whole body drooped, "What difference does it…?" He stared at Zoro, then glanced at the still-laughing Luffy with a sigh and shook his head.

"What's _wrong_ with you people?"

* * *

Coby tucked more of the shirt-end into his pants as he approached the door to his classroom, but it didn't seem to help.

_I can't believe this was the only spare uniform shirt between the two of them… _He rolled the sleeves up a little more as the edges tickled his knuckles. _Luffy-senpai was barely even awake enough to respond, though…_ Coby sighed and curled his hands around his backpack straps near his shoulders, trying to ignore the way the extra fabric bunched underneath them.

Not only was Zoro's shirt much too large on Coby, but Coby's pants were still covered in dust from yesterday and he'd been chipping off dried blood from his backpack his entire way to campus. He was tired, beaten, hungry, sore, and wearing clothes that weren't his after he'd fallen asleep in Zoro's apartment. His hair was mussed and his skin was still sticky with dried sweat, but despite that he felt a weary smile stretch across his face. At least the day could only get better from here, right?

Absorbed in his thoughts, he didn't notice that the only sound was that of his dress shoes squeaking on the spotless linoleum, the rest of the classroom enveloped in a stony silence. He stopped halfway to his desk, the hair on the back of his neck raising, and looked at his classmates' tense expressions.

"Are you the fool who left class early yesterday?"

Coby's face paled and his legs started shaking. He slowly turned to face the front of the classroom and his suspicions were confirmed by the hulking form he saw standing behind the teacher's podium.

Captain Morgan's eyes met Coby's and froze the boy in place. Coby stared in silence for several moments, eyes wide and jaw slack, until Morgan barked, "Well? Are you?"

Coby nearly leapt from his skin. He snapped into a trembling salute and squeezed his eyes shut, "Y-y-y-y-yes, sir! I'm sorry, sir! It was an emergency, sir!"

Captain Morgan's booted footsteps thumped loudly as he walked around the podium and approached him. Coby peeked an eye open and felt his heart leap into his throat at the tic going in the man's forehead, yet he was unable to move as Morgan stopped to tower over him.

"An _emergency?_ I gave you an _order_, you insolent brat!" The front of Coby's ridiculously oversized white button-down crinkled in the man's fist as he lifted the boy effortlessly into the air until they were nearly face-to-face. "Disobeying a direct order from a superior officer is a sign of _disrespect._"

Coby's eyes widened and his heart raced at the wild look on Morgan's face. _What is he going to_—

But the next thing he knew, Coby's tailbone was screaming and Captain Morgan was walking to the doorway. Light flashed off his glasses as he turned to face Morgan from where the man had dropped him to the floor, eyes watching the marine captain's wide back in shock.

Was that it?

But no, Morgan suddenly shouted out, making everyone jump, "ALL OF YOU, OUTSIDE! IT'S TIME YOU LEARNED A LESSON!"

* * *

"Hm? Hey, Luffy, isn't that Coby?"

Luffy tilted his head back so he could hang it off the stone wall he was laying on, one hand absently holding his hat secure. "Hey, yeah, looks like it." He wiggled the foot propped on his knee, mouth quirked to the side, "Hmmm… There was something I wanted to ask him…"

Zoro eyed the professor coming out with the herd of younger students, taking particular interest in the axe he was holding. This was the training field, sure, but he'd never seen someone practice with such a ridiculously oversiz—No. No, wait, he wasn't _holding _the axe. Zoro narrowed his eyes and leaned his back further against the wall behind him until he could rest his head against it as well.

They didn't appear to have noticed him and Luffy yet. The professor had stomped out to the middle of the dirt field and turned to face his students, who were huddled around the door like a flock of sheep. _Not in their gym uniforms…?_ Zoro raised a brow and eyed the professor again skeptically.

"COME HERE, YOU INSOLENT FOOL!"

Zoro could see Coby's full-body flinch all the way from the wall, and then the pink-haired boy was shuffling forward to stand in the field, though he stopped about ten feet from the professor. _Axe… Axe-Hand Morgan? Right?_ He eyed the axe for a moment and then returned his gaze to Coby and found himself sighing. His shirt really was _way_ too big on the kid.

His eyes narrowed. Coby was trembling, the shivers magnified by the twitching shirt. Shaking wasn't terribly unusual for him, especially where unpleasant situations were concerned, but something about it…

"IT'S TIME I TEACH YOU ALL WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DISOBEY AN ORDER!" Probably-Morgan was shouting, his hand caressing the iron of his axe as he started pacing back and forth. "THE UTTER _DISRESPECT_"—he pointed his axe at Coby and turned to pace the other way—"THAT YOU HAVE SHOWN BY LEAVING CLASS IS _UNACCEPTABLE_ AT THIS ACADEMY AND _WILL NOT BE TOLERATED_."

"Oh! That's what I wanted to ask him!"

Zoro glanced up to find his captain rolling onto his stomach before he hopped down from the wall. Then his eyes widened as he felt a hand fist in his own wrinkled white button-down as Luffy hauled him to his feet, ribs and stitches twinging. He grimaced and placed one hand on his swords out of habit as he was forced to jog after his captain and asked, "Wait, why do I need to come?"

Luffy's chuckled answer was drowned out by Axe-Hand's lecture.

"SINCE YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE _SUPERIOR_ TO ME, YOU'RE GOING TO PROVE IT IN COMBAT—"

"Heyyyy! Coby!"

Luffy finally let go of Zoro's shirt to wave as all eyes turned to them. Zoro grinned as Morgan turned to face them, veins bulging in his red face. He wasn't sure what Luffy wanted, but pissing this guy off looked like a great way to start.

Coby stared at them gape-mouthed, failing to utter a word as they drew up alongside him and Luffy asked excitedly, "Do you know where Nami is?"

Coby's jaw moved, but no sound came out. Zoro kept the two of them in his peripheral vision as he ran his eyes over Morgan. That axe really was ridiculously oversized. The tendons along that arm stood out significantly more than the ones in his other arm, and it gave the man a somewhat lopsided appearance. Still, though, he was acclimated to the strange appendage based on how easily he moved that axe around. Zoro's thumb rubbed contemplatively over the white hilt of Wado Ichimonji.

Coby's moving jaw finally cracked out, "Wha—" He shut it and swallowed and then his eyes were flashing back and forth between Morgan and Luffy as he hissed, "What are you doing, Luffy-senpai?!"

"_YOU DARE TO INTERRUPT_ _ME_?"

Coby's mouth snapped shut and he took a subconscious step behind Luffy.

Luffy merely turned to look at Morgan, eyes rolling up until he got to the man's face.

The fingers of his regular hand were gripped tightly around the top of his axe, "JUST WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, PUNK?"

Zoro felt a smirk slide across his face and had to bite back a snort as Luffy slowly grinned and replied, "Monkey D. Luffy! I'm going to be King of the Pirates!"

_This kid is going to be the death of me someday. _He shifted his weight and placed his thumb against the cool metal crossguard of his sword, ready to pop it from the sheath.

But then he felt a hand in the back of his shirt again and Luffy was chuckling as Coby shouted, "_Luffy-senpai what are you_—"

Zoro stumbled to keep his feet as he was yanked into a backward jog. He twisted until he was running forward and found Luffy grinning back at him, Coby's entire flailing body tucked under one arm. Zoro shook his head and grinned back.

"GET BACK HERE YOU PIECES OF TRASH!"

"Luffy-senpai, what are you doing?! Where are we going?!"

Luffy laughed out, "To find Nami!"

* * *

This was absolutely unforgivable. Those impertinent imbeciles would sorely regret this. He watched their retreating forms, the sound of Monkey D. Luffy's laughter still echoing back to him. It was beneath him to chase after them, but… He had several others in mind who were worth that low station.

Morgan dug his heel into the ground as he spun and shouted at his remaining students, "SOMEONE GO FETCH THE STUDENT POLICE FORCE."

Two of them scampered off, the rest of them still huddled by the door back into the building. He may not need to punish them in quite the same way as that one kid, but they still deserved consequences for letting the pink-haired one leave the other day. And they had plenty of time.

He stalked a few steps closer, combat boots sinking into the dirt, and growled, "You think you all get off scot-free?" He pointed behind him at the empty field, "Get out there and give me laps, you brats!" They just stared at him with wide eyes and he ground his teeth behind his metal jaw, "NOW!"

They all flinched and obeyed, some of them practically tripping over themselves to get past him and start running. Morgan kept a watchful eye on them, barking furiously at the laggers until they caught up with the back of the flock. It was too bad today was another cloudy day. The lesson would've been much better learned in the blistering sun, but an immediate and imperfect lesson was always better than a perfect one at a later date, in his opinion.

The thick clouds dulled the lingering summer heat, though the air still had an oppressive feel to it. Perhaps it would rain. That would make for an _excellent_ learning opportunity for these maggots. He paced back and forth slowly, the stalk of a predator, eyes riveted to his students and grumbling complaints at their form, their speed, their lack of drive. But it wasn't long until he heard a door open behind him and he raised his eyes from his students and turned, only to see his idiot son and his friends coming out of the Academy. The two messengers who had gone to fetch the police force took one look at their teacher and skirted around him until they could join their classmates jogging around the field.

"Dad! Those two said you needed us for something. What can we help you with?" Helmeppo asked as he swaggered forward. His uniform was immaculate, though he had left the top several buttons open and had decorated himself with a gold chain around his neck. Morgan felt himself sneering. Not only did it make him the target of any thief who laid eyes on him, but any enemy could use that chain to choke him to death. His hand twitched to teach him a lesson, but there were more important things than taking his son to task for being worthless. His charge of the student police force was the only useful thing he had to his name.

He started stroking the back of his axe, eyes scanning his son's lackeys before he returned them to his son. "There are some students who disrespected me. You need to track them down and bring them here so I can discipline them properly."

Helmeppo's blond brows pinched and he shouted, "How dare anyone disrespect you?!" He clucked his tongue and gestured at the bulky students behind him, "Don't worry, we'll get them immediately, dad. What did they look like?"

Morgan held his hand up near his waist, "One of them is from this class, about this tall, pink hair. Then there was the kid with a straw hat who said he was Monkey D. Luffy and the green-haired one with swords."

Helmeppo's eyes widened and he suddenly looked like he might pop a blood vessel, "_What?_" He stomped his foot and crossed his arms, nearly baring his teeth, "Those are the guys who beat us up! Pirate Hunter and those other two."

Morgan felt something in him still. His hand stopped midway down his axe and he asked quietly, "Pirate Hunter?"

His son scoffed, "Yeah, it's what people call him. It's a stupid name, he's not even in his apprenticeship yet and shouldn't be collecting bounties, but the school hasn't disciplined him for it at all."

Morgan resumed stroking the top of his axe thoughtfully, "I see… Very well. It looks like I have multiple lessons to teach. Bring them to me."

Helmeppo rubbed the collar of his shirt between two fingers and gave his father a greasy grin, "My pleasure."

* * *

Nami glanced up, brown eyes scanning the hallway. She could've sworn she'd heard her name, but no one seemed to be looking at her. She tapped her toe against the wall where she had it propped, hips against the windowsill and one foot braced against the floor. Other students were passing by in front of her, but the only looks she was getting were appraising ones that nearly had her rolling her eyes.

Teenage boys were so predictable.

She returned her attention to her phone, flipping through her contacts. She knew she needed to make this call soon, but as the little blue bar hovered over the number she'd been looking for, her fingers hesitated. She was already a day later than they'd agreed upon, but he was lenient when it came to checking in. He knew she couldn't always get back to him on time, not with the nature of her work. But most of all…

Her fingers tightened on the little black device in her hand and she bit her lip to fight the nausea climbing up her throat.

Most of all, he knew he didn't have to worry, because he knew she'd always come back.

"... iii~"

She shook herself and looked up again. What was that sound?

"... mmiiii~"

She flipped the phone shut and tucked it between her breasts, slipping it easily through the gap between two buttons. She'd had her phone taken from her backpack and her pocket before, but no professor ever _dared_ put his or her hand anywhere near her chest even when it started ringing in the middle of class. She grinned smugly to herself and listened. Something about that voice sounded familiar…

"Namiiii~"

She'd been right, she recognized that voice. One of the only _un_predictable teenage boys she had met in her life. What did he want?

"Hey, stop! Halt!"

Oh. Nope. Whatever he wanted, she did _not_ want to get involved, not if it included angry shouts like that. She couldn't risk her position here. She scanned the hallway quickly, the sound of footsteps and laughter speeding closer. There! That classroom looked empty, if she ducked in—

"NAMI! There you are!"

"_Crap!"_ He was flying down the hallway straight for her, people scrambling and falling out of his way. She glared at him as she caught sight of student police officers careening around the corner and she hissed, "_What the hell do you want?!"_

The idiot just laughed, and the smug grin Zoro shot her was _infuriating_, but they were getting closer and the officers weren't far behind. Her skirt brushed her thighs as she spun and pushed off the wall with the foot propped there, sprinting down the hallway, away from the bundle of chaos, "Why did you bring them here, Luffy?!"

She was holding the extra distance her head start had given her, but the idiots were fast enough to keep pace and she couldn't put any more space between them. _Crap, crap, crap! I really don't need to get involved with the student police force! Why the hell did he come find me while he was being chased?!_ She grit her teeth and whipped around the corner and up the stairs to the second floor. It was much more labyrinthine up here, the rooms in odd shapes to accommodate the various elective classes they held. Her eyes immediately started scanning, mind whirling as she placed them in her mental map and started scratching out a plan. It would have to take care of all of them, but it should work…

She spun around two quick corners and skidded to a halt, waiting until she heard flip-flops before she flung out an arm and grabbed onto his black suit jacket. Her fingers twitched, surprised by the lush feel of premium fabric in her hands. _I thought he was just an idiot, but… Who is this kid? No normal punk could afford this._ But she shoved the thoughts aside and tugged with all her might, the force of stopping his momentum nearly pulling her after him.

Thankfully, he brought himself to a halt quickly, his free hand flying out to grab Zoro's shirt even as he turned toward Nami and grinned from beneath his straw hat. She smiled despite herself, then reluctantly let go of the rich fabric in her grasp and held her finger to her lips before leading them into a little nook. This spot was hard to find if you didn't know it was there, set as it was between two classrooms. She shoved them in before her and waited by the corner, one eye peeking around to watch as footsteps thundered closer…

… And passed, shouts growing fainter as the officers continued past their hiding spot. She let loose a sigh, then turned a glare to the two—No, make that three, boys behind her. Two hands fisted in the front of Luffy's jacket and she had to sidetrack herself from crooning at the fabric. _Definitely need to find out where his money comes from, this kid has to be loaded._ She slotted it for later and shook him as she hissed, "What the hell are you doing, bringing them to me like that?! Why are you being chased by the student police force?!"

Luffy was grinning like a fiend and let Coby drop from where he'd been holding him under his arm, the poor boy collapsing in a heap on the ground. Nami didn't bother to spare him a glance as she shot a glare at Zoro and bit out, "What did you do?!"

He scoffed and rubbed at his head with his left hand, right one propped casually over his swords, "Why are you looking at me? I didn't do anything!" His eyes flicked to Luffy, "It was all him."

Nami glared at him, then she let go of Luffy's jacket and grabbed Zoro's ear. He staggered toward her with a hiss as she said, "That would sound a lot more convincing if you didn't have that damn _smirk_ on your face." He grabbed her wrist and tugged with a grumble, though he didn't squeeze. She knew from experience he was more than strong enough to toss her into a wall, which meant he was being positively gentle, so she loosened her pinch slightly. But she didn't fully let go, using her hold to turn his face toward hers and ask, "What the hell do you think you're doing, leading student officers to me like that? Why are you dragging me into your trouble again?"

"_What?_ _Our_ trouble? You're the one who took Luffy hostage to that damn Buggy and _shot_ him, _you're_ the one who brings trouble!" He winced as she pinched his ear harder again and he hissed, "Damn it, let go of me, witch!"

She held on for a moment, but then sighed and let go, his hand flying from her wrist to slap over his ear as he glared at her.

"Where…"

Nami and Zoro both turned to look at Coby, leaning against the wall and looking between them.

"Where did Luffy-senpai go?"

Nami felt a sinking sensation and scanned the small alcove, but Luffy was nowhere to be seen. She peeked at the hallway just outside the nook but didn't see him there, either. She bit her lip to stop herself from cursing and merely groaned instead. Maybe unpredictable wasn't as much fun as she'd thought.

Zoro stepped out of the alcove altogether and started walking down the hall back the way they'd come. Nami hissed, "Where are you going?!" He grimaced and shrugged, saying over his shoulder as he continued to walk away, "Well, we have to go find him, don't we?"

Then they heard renewed shouting and abrupt laughter, and the slap of flip-flops preceded the missing Luffy as he came careening around the corner, officers in tow. Zoro's eyes widened, but he dropped in behind his captain as Luffy passed him.

"Auuughhh!" Nami shot out of the alcove and ran beside Luffy, grabbing his shoulder and shaking it, "Why did you bring them _back_?!"

Coby scrambled out of the alcove and tripped, so Zoro grabbed his oversized shirt and half-carried him until he got his feet back under him. Luffy laughed and Nami had the sudden suspicion that he'd done this on purpose. But that would require cunning he didn't have… Right?

She eyed him as they ran and wondered.

Sixteen turns and two double-sided classrooms later, they were out of sight of the officers again and she dragged them all into another empty classroom and shut the door quietly. She waited until the pounding footsteps and shouts receded before she sighed and turned to face the room. The entire wall across from them was a window, casting soft gray light into the room. The floor was surprisingly bare and most of it was recessed. She wasn't sure what class was taught in here, but it was unfortunate that there wasn't really any furniture to hide behind.

Oh well. She stomped down one step to the recessed part of the floor until she was next to Luffy anyway and then she swept a foot behind his.

"Huh?" He blinked as he started falling backwards, one arm pinwheeling as the other grabbed his hat, and then his back smacked into the floor and Nami promptly sat on his chest. She was facing the wall of windows, back to the door. She crossed her legs and tucked her chin in her hand as she frowned down at him. At his questioning look, she merely replied, "Since you can't seem to stand still for more than thirty seconds."

He pouted and started shifting underneath her, his free hand lifting to push at her shoulder, "Aww, but Nami—_oof_."

Nami glanced behind her and found Zoro sitting on Luffy's stomach, almost back-to-back with her and facing the door, a wicked grin on his face. "What's wrong, Captain?" He slid his eyes to Luffy's, "Can't handle a couple of minutes of rest?"

Luffy's pout turned into a disappointed grimace, "But _Zoro_—hey!" Luffy lifted his head until he could peek past Nami's stomach to see Coby sitting on his legs, a determined frown on his face. The pink-haired boy pushed his glasses up his nose, then returned his hand to holding down Luffy's leg and said, "Nami-senpai is right, Luffy-senpai. You need to stay hiding with us until they're gone!"

Luffy frowned at him and hummed for a moment. Then he tucked his hands behind his head with a grin and a chuckle, but didn't complain further. Nami felt her lips trying to twitch into a smile, so she turned to level a considering look at Coby instead and asked, "So? What did these two idiots do that has the student police force chasing after them?"

"Hey!" Zoro shot her a glare over his shoulder, but she merely stuck her tongue out at him over her own shoulder before returning her gaze to Coby. Coby sighed heavily, head hanging, "Captain Morgan was—"

And then something crashed through the wall.

* * *

Luffy coughed at the dust flying around the room, Zoro and Nami bouncing on his chest as he cleared his throat and lungs. He blinked rapidly, his free hand rubbing at his eyes to get the specks out, his other hand brushing absently at his hat. His friends were coughing as well, but as Luffy sucked in a breath the material hit his tongue and he realized it wasn't dust.

It was ash, and it was still tinged with heat.

And it tasted familiar.

There was a groan from the direction of the pile of rubble behind him and Luffy felt excitement spark through him. The ash smelled familiar because it _was_ familiar, because he _knew_ that groan—

He tilted his head back, hat rubbing along the floor as he peered upside-down at the heap of broken wood, insulation, and drywall and called out, "Ace! Hey, Ace!"

There was another groan and the clatter of wood and loose nails as a figure staggered out of the heap and called, "... Lu?" Three swift strides and Ace walked out of the ashy haze and came to a stop at Luffy's head. He eyed his brother skeptically, one brow raising as he took in the three people sitting on him. Ace shook out his open red button-down and black jacket, wiping soot absently from his bare chest, and said with the hint of a smile, "Lu…"

He crouched and reached out a hand and Luffy felt Zoro shift on his stomach, the man's leg muscles going taut. But Zoro stopped moving as Luffy grinned, and he felt his friend relax as Luffy let Ace brush ash from his hat. Ace's eyes flicked knowingly at the swordsman and he asked, a gentle smile on his face, "Care to introduce me, Lu?"

Luffy wrapped the fingers of one hand around Ace's wrist and tugged, pointing with his other hand to each person as he said, "They're my friends! That's Nami and that's Zoro and that's Coby."

Ace's raised brow hadn't come down yet, but his smile grew as he looked each of them in the eye. "Of course they're your friends." He raised his free hand and inclined his head slightly, "Portgas D. Ace. It's a pleasure to meet you." There was the sound of footsteps and falling wood behind them and Ace shot a quick glance over his shoulder. Turning back to the four of them, he stood with a sigh, Luffy's fingers slipping from his wrist as Ace said, "I'm terribly sorry for the interruption and I wish I could stay and get to know you all, but unfortunately I'm previously engaged."

He then bowed deeply, hands at his sides, and said, "I apologize for whatever trouble this idiot has caused you, and thank you for taking care of him. I know he's a handful, but I think I can speak for the rest of us when I say we appreciate it immensely."

And then he spun on his heel and he was gone, shouting behind him, "See you in a few months, Lu! Don't forget!"

Luffy grinned and waved, "Bye, Ace!"

There were several beats of silence, and then Nami muttered, "Wasn't… Isn't that…?" Luffy glanced at her and found her jaw dropped, brown eyes wide.

"That… That was Fire Fist Ace!" Coby's expression mirrored Nami's and he was staring at the hole Ace had made and then vanished through.

Zoro shifted and Luffy glanced at him as the man eyed his captain and asked, "How do you know Fire Fist Ace, Luffy?"

Nami's eyes flicked to Zoro, then down to Luffy as the dark-haired boy cocked his head curiously.

"Ace?" He sounded puzzled. "He's my older brother!"

The three of them inhaled collectively, as if on cue, and then Zoro grinned wickedly and chuckled, "Is he now?"

There was a whine coming from Coby, but Luffy didn't get the chance to look to see what was wrong before Nami grabbed his cheek and tugged. His eyes swiveled to hers and he found her practically baring her teeth at him as she hissed, "Your _brother?_ What the hell kind of family do you have, Luffy?!"

He grinned and was about to brag about his _other_ brother too when the sound of shouting and pounding footsteps echoed through the hole Ace had left in the wall.

"They're down here!"

Nami let go of his cheek and it snapped back into place. Luffy tilted his head back to look behind him again and, seeing the crowd of officers framed by the hole in the wall, he decided that was enough. He abruptly sat up, Nami spilling off his chest and knocking into Zoro, who threw out a hand to steady himself and accidentally hit Coby. Luffy grabbed Nami around the waist and lifted her into the air effortlessly, slinging her over his shoulder.

"Luffy, what are you—"

Zoro's eyes widened as Luffy hooked an arm around his throat and then used that hand to grab a fistful of Coby's oversized shirt.

And then he kicked the window, shattering it, and leapt through, Nami's and Coby's screams _almost _drowning out his laughter.

* * *

Coby groaned and rubbed at his shoulder. He would have a massive bruise there, but at least he was alive? He could hear Luffy laughing maniacally and Nami shouting at him, so Coby cracked an eye open.

She was still slung over Luffy's shoulder and was pounding against his back with her fists, feet kicking in the air with every word, "WHY THE HELL DID YOU THINK IT WAS OKAY TO JUMP OUT THE WINDOW?! PUT ME DOWN, YOU IDIOT!"

Luffy just laughed, making no move to put her down, clutching at his stomach with his free hand, the other wrapped securely around the back of Nami's knees to keep her steady as she squirmed.

"You _asshole_," Zoro groaned and rolled to a sit, breath heaving as a hand hovered over his ribs. There was a shout from the window they had just exited through and he glared up at the officers poking their heads out, but they quickly vanished and the sound of footsteps receded once again.

Coby stared at the now-empty window. _They'll be making their way downstairs, won't they?_ He blinked as he felt himself being lifted by the back of his shirt and turned his head to find Zoro to be the one holding him up like a lost puppy.

The swordsman frowned faintly at him and asked, "You okay? Anything broken?"

Coby patted at his various pains to make sure and then sighed with relief, "Yeah, I think I'm okay." Zoro was careful when he set him on his feet anyway and opened his mouth to say something, but then a door slammed open and Nami pointed from her vantage over Luffy's shoulder and shouted, "They're here!" She slapped at Luffy's back, "Run, you idiot!"

Zoro tugged Coby around and they started running around the building, Luffy dropping in behind them, still carrying Nami. Coby gulped down air and tried to keep up, glancing back every now and then to see if they were losing their pursuers. Zoro and Luffy had boundless energy and Coby had no doubt they could out-stamina the student police force with ease, even with Zoro's injuries. But Coby wasn't so sure _he_ could out-stamina them. He worked to pace his breathing, clutching at the stitch in his side. _At least we're close to the eastern side of the building, we might be able to leave through the gates_…

His eyes widened. _Wait, but that means_—He stretched out a hand to tug at the back of Zoro's black jacket, "Zoro-senpai, I think—"

Zoro stopped abruptly and Coby slammed right into him, bouncing off his back and stumbling a few steps as he clutched at his pounding forehead. The slap of Luffy's flip-flops kept going and Coby peeked an eye open to see the dark-haired boy's head turning back to watch them curiously as he passed them.

Coby rubbed at his forehead with one hand while he threw the other out in Luffy's general direction and mumbled, "Luffy-senpai, watch out!"

Luffy stared at them, a low hum sounding from his throat. He slowed to a trot and then halted and turned to face forward again.

And found himself standing directly in front of Captain Morgan.

Nami propped a hand against his back to give her enough leverage to turn and look, and then her eyes widened and she was hissing, "Put me down, Luffy, _put me down_—"

He set her on her feet next to him, eyes not moving from Morgan's, and Nami scrambled back until she was standing with Zoro and Coby a few feet behind him.

Morgan took a menacing step forward, but Luffy merely tilted his head back further to keep his eyes locked on the man's, one hand gripping his hat to keep it from falling off his head.

"That's the guy! The one with the straw hat and Pirate Hunter are the ones who beat us up!" Coby turned to find Helmeppo standing next to Morgan, reaching out to tug on the towering man's sleeveless coat, "These guys don't have any respect for me, your son! They've besmirched your name—"

Coby felt the breath lock up in his throat as Morgan slammed the back of his axe into Helmeppo without breaking eye contact with Luffy, knocking his son several feet away. "SHUT UP YOU PIECE OF TRASH! I DON'T CARE WHAT THEY DID TO YOU!"

Helmeppo struggled to his elbows, eyes wide, nose bleeding, "D… Dad?"

Morgan nearly _snarled_. "Don't bother calling me that, you worthless idiot. I've put up with you so far because you're too insignificant to bother with, but now you're getting in my way. Shut up and stay down."

Helmeppo flinched and Coby took an automatic step toward him, but his attention was pulled away from the blond when he heard Nami hiss next to him. He turned to look at her and followed her dark gaze to Luffy.

It wasn't a big frown. Nothing about his posture seemed overtly dangerous, not at all… But something about the way Luffy was _looking_ at Morgan made Coby's mouth go dry.

Morgan narrowed his eyes, hand gripping the back of his axe, "Finally here to take your punishment, trash?"

Luffy just stared, unmoving.

"No answer?" Morgan waited a moment, then his shoulders hunched and he shouted, "YOU WORTHLESS PUNK, HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT ME?!"

The crease in Luffy's brow deepened.

Morgan clenched his fist and ground out, "VERY WELL, IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO REPENT THEN I'LL HAVE TO TEACH YOU A LESSON!"

Luffy didn't move and didn't take his eyes from Morgan's, not as the man took another step forward.

Not as he reared that massive arm back, the cloudy light casting a vaguely axe-shaped shadow over Luffy's face.

Not even as he swung down, straight toward Luffy's head.

Luffy suddenly gave him a devilish grin.

There was an awful clang and the scrape of metal on metal and Coby slapped his hands over his ears, eyes clenching shut as he winced at the sound. When he peeked them open again, he saw Zoro standing beneath Morgan's axe, all three of his swords out and braced behind him over his back, blocking Morgan from harming Luffy.

Luffy grinned wider and met his swordsman's eyes, and some message seem to pass between them because Zoro grinned back and chuckled.

"YOU DARE INTERFERE WITH MY LESSON, PIRATE HUNTER?"

Zoro winced and slid a sidelong glare toward the man shouting above him. Then he shifted his feet slightly and muttered, "Mind if I do the honors this time, Captain?"

That grin still on his face, Luffy merely took a single step back and a wicked light came into Zoro's eyes.

It was over before it really started. Zoro was a whirlwind of energy, swords streaming through the gray light like lightning. It was less than a minute before Morgan was down on one knee, one hand clutched to staunch the bleeding gash in his chest. Zoro took advantage of the man's shock and pressed a booted foot into the back of the axe until the blade was buried deep in the dirt. Morgan tugged at it, corded muscles straining, but it wouldn't come out. He raised hate-filled eyes to Zoro, and then the green-haired man slammed the hilt of his sword into Morgan's temple and the man's eyes rolled back as he collapsed. He sprawled in an awkward heap, buried axe forcing his arm to twist disturbingly to accommodate the weight of the rest of his body.

There was a small noise behind Coby and he turned to look, only to find the student police force had apparently arrived and they were all just standing there, staring with fear as Zoro turned toward them.

Sword still protruding from his mouth, he flashed them a wild grin and asked hungrily, "Who's next?"

One of the officers fell on his ass, but didn't say a word, his wide eyes just staring as he shuffled backward. The others looked at each other, then one of them stepped forward hesitantly, "We… We don't want to fight you. Can we just…" He gulped and pointed with a shaking finger, "Can you let us take him to the infirmary? He needs to get that treated."

Zoro eyed them for a moment longer, then dropped his sword from his mouth silently and wiped the blades clean with his shirt sleeve before he sheathed them. He settled his forearm on the hilts and strolled over to Luffy as he sighed out, other hand waving in the air, "Do whatever you want."

The student police force scrambled forward, giving the swordsman a wide berth as they made their way past him. Zoro glanced at Luffy and found his friend grinning, so he grinned back, though it was tinged with a hint of weariness. Then Nami was there, grabbing Luffy by the front of his jacket with one hand and shaking him.

"WHY DID YOU PULL ME INTO THIS, LUFFY?! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

Luffy pouted and he frowned at her hand, his own raising as if to grab her wrist but stopping just before he touched it. His hand hovered there uncertainly and he flicked his eyes up to hers, "Whaaaat? I have an important question for you!"

Nami glared at him, "AND YOU DIDN'T THINK IT COULD WAIT?!" Then she turned her gaze to Zoro and grabbed his shirt too, yanking him forward, "WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP HIM?!"

Zoro grimaced, eyes dropping to the hand in his shirt as he grabbed her wrist and tugged at it, "Hey, it wasn't _my_ idea! You know what he's like!"

Nami growled and returned her gaze to Luffy, releasing Zoro's shirt and moving both hands to Luffy's. Eyes narrowed, she snapped, "So? What's this important question?"

The grin Luffy presented to her was blinding.

"Do you have any more of those tangerines you let me try the other day?"

* * *

Sengoku stared at the report in his hand, dread and fury warring for space in his gut. Captain Morgan's defeat by a student had caused an absolute uproar among the Academy staff, the Navy, and several officials of the World Government, and Sengoku had spent several hours assuring them there would be an investigation and appropriate consequences.

But even all of that outrage was nothing compared to the floodgates it had opened with the students. Stories started flying immediately about the things Morgan had done to them. From the relatively benign things like making all of his lectures study halls and getting students to build a statue of himself to the borderline psychotic ones of being forced to fight him barehanded or being _flogged_—The paper crumpled in Sengoku's hand and he dropped his head into his other palm, nausea burning in his throat.

And all of that was _before_ he had started his formal investigation.

The number of students who had come forward was astounding. Every time he asked them why they were only reporting these incidents now, their answers varied, but essentially they always came down to two reasons. First, Morgan was currently not conscious. That seemed to factor into a great many of their accounts. Second, and far more importantly as far as Sengoku could tell, a _student_ had defeated Morgan and had done so rather spectacularly and in full view of dozens of witnesses. They didn't use quite so many words, but Sengoku pieced together that the seemingly insurmountable Morgan had been defeated by one of their own and that had given them the courage to finally step forward.

Sengoku dragged his hand down his face and pulled at his braided beard. The situation on campus was bad enough, but once the Marines had heard about it, he'd started hearing from Morgan's subordinates as well. Stories of cruel treatment to prisoners, of theft of contraband, of injuries that nearly resulted in deaths to both prisoners and his own men. Sengoku was still sorting out truth from rumor, but so far things really weren't looking good.

All because of _that one_.

He sighed. That wasn't quite right, but it wasn't quite wrong, either. The kid was already trouble incarnate, but he'd surrounded himself with even more trouble, it seemed.

He dropped the crumpled report from his fist and it bounced across the desk as he leaned back in his chair, hand stroking his beard. It had taken more digging than he wanted to admit, and he'd unfortunately had to ask Garp for help piecing some of it together over the last few days (he'd be paying for that for months, he was sure), but he was getting a better picture already. Just a few more puzzles to sort out and he thought it would all be dealt with.

There was a knock on his door and he heard one of his men say through the wood, "We've brought him, sir."

Sengoku sat forward and linked his hands on the desk in front of him, removing any sign of emotion from his face. "Very well. Let him in."

The door opened and the Marine pushed the small pink-haired boy forward, shutting the door quickly behind him.

Sengoku eyed the trembling kid for a moment. _So this is the one who took charge after Morgan was defeated…?_ By all accounts, he'd seen to making sure Morgan and Helmeppo were transferred to the infirmary, the student police force had an account of everything that had happened (he never wanted to read _that_ report again), and he'd made sure his classmates were okay.

Sengoku held back his amusement, keeping his face neutral as he asked, "Your name is Coby, correct?"

The boy bit down on a squeak and saluted, "Y-ye-yes sir!"

Sengoku rubbed idly at the rings on his fingers, "Coby, we've been investigating the days leading up to the incident with Captain Morgan and some interesting facts have come to light." He picked up one of the manilla folders on his desk, one fat with paper, and opened it carefully. "We have a report that you were part of the assault on Crime Lord Buggy the Clown and Pirate Iron Club Alvida four days ago. When you were supposed to be in class." He flicked his eyes up to eye the boy from behind his round glasses, "Care to comment?"

Coby's lips tightened into a thin line, "I-I-I was th-there, sir. I… Didn't do much fighting." He bit his lip, then continued, "I mostly performed medical aid to the best of my ability, sir."

_Interesting_. He grunted and they sat in silence for a few moments, the rustle of paper the only sound as Sengoku flipped through a few more pages of meticulous notes from Garp's investigator. Not so different from the notes the school had already gathered, but it was time to put young Coby to the test.

He put on his sternest face and raised hard eyes to Coby's, "Would that be the medical aid you learned while working for Pirate Iron Club Alvida?

The boy's breath hitched and sweat popped out along his face and neck, beading almost instantaneously and sliding down his skin to soak into the collar of his uniform. He started panting, and Sengoku watched with carefully hidden interest as the boy clenched his eyes shut, straightened up his salute, and said, "Yes, sir!"

He took a deep breath and continued, eyes still shut, "I worked for Pirate Iron Club Alvida, sir! I skipped class to save Luffy-senpai, sir! I…" He gulped in another breath and Sengoku winced slightly as he shouted even louder, "I thought it was more important to save a life than stay in class, sir!"

Sengoku braced and waited, but it seemed the shouting was done for the moment. He replied curiously, "And what punishment do you think is fitting for these acts?"

He watched Coby's posture hunch inward, but Sengoku raised a brow as the boy's shoulders straightened again quickly and he said, "Anything you deem appropriate, sir! But…" He bit his lip, "But I respectfully request that you not bar me from trying out for the Naval program at the Academy, sir…" He hunched inward further and Sengoku had the uncomfortable feeling he was expecting a blow and he desperately hoped Morgan hadn't been the one to train that automatic response into him.

Coby jumped as Sengoku snapped the manilla folder shut and tossed it on his desk, but the boy's eyes remained shut. An amused smile tugged at the Admiral's lips, "Whatever I deem appropriate, huh? I think I have something in mind…"

Coby's face twisted as he seemed to brace himself and Sengoku had to bite back a chuckle. At least something good had come out of this fiasco.

He leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers in front of his chest, and continued, "I think the most fitting punishment is to make you head of the Student Police Force."

Coby opened his mouth—and then snapped it shut again as his face twisted with confusion. He peeked his eyes open, arm loosening from his salute, and asked, "... Sir? Can you repeat that?"

Sengoku allowed himself to grin outright, "You heard me correctly the first time, young man. We need people with your attitude here. Willing to fight for a life. Willing to admit to mistakes and take responsibility for the consequences. We haven't been as selective with our current members and too many of the students have let the power go to their heads, but I intend on changing that. Starting with you."

Coby opened his mouth again. And shut it. Sengoku tried not to laugh at the way he looked like a gaping fish. He waited a moment more and when no answer seemed forthcoming he finally asked, "So? What do you think, Coby? Will you accept?"

The boy blinked and then asked, hesitant, "Sir… What happened to the current leader of the police force? Helmeppo-senpai?"

Sengoku blinked back, neck straightening as he leaned back a little. He hummed thoughtfully to himself before replying, "He's been suspended and his title removed. We discovered he took more after his father than we'd have liked and applied that to the student police force. Any final decisions concerning his discipline are pending the investigation of Captain Morgan."

Coby's gaze drew down and he stared at the ground thoughtfully, "I see…"

Sengoku cleared his throat, "My question still stands, young man. Will you accept the position?"

Coby took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then raised his determined gaze to Sengoku and snapped out another salute. "Yes, sir! It would be my pleasure, sir!"

Sengoku smiled.


	9. The Liar

**Disclaimer: **I do not own One Piece or the characters, those belong solely to the beautiful brain of Eiichiro Oda.

**Note:** I updated my profile with some information regarding my One Piece fics in case anyone is curious.

* * *

**Chapter 9: The Liar**

* * *

"…right, I'm a captain…"

Zoro cracked an eye open, the late morning sun temporarily blinding him until his vision adjusted. Luffy was walking along the wide ledge, arms held out to either side for balance, his jacket floating around him in the draft climbing its way up the side of the building.

"…ourse I have subordinates…"

Luffy grinned, eyes sliding to glance over the edge of the rooftop briefly before returning to focus on his footing. Zoro shifted slightly, putting his feet in a better position to stand in case he needed to leap after a certain someone. But Luffy's steps were certain, his balance impeccable as he stood one-legged on the ledge and stared out over the city. He squinted, the hems of his jacket fluttering to mid-chest height as the wind picked up. Then he heaved a great sigh and Zoro felt a little sickening jump in his gut as Luffy fell backward—

—and his back smacked the concrete so that he was lying perfectly in the middle of the ledge, one hand flying to secure his hat to his head. Chagrin squirmed its way up his ribs and Zoro leaned his head back against the stone behind him with a concealed grumble. Truly, this kid would be the death of him.

"…thousand! Yes, you heard me…"

Luffy started humming tunelessly to himself and Zoro let his eyes slide back shut.

"…Ha! Hahaha! Well, maybe if you…"

He took a deep breath and relaxed, feeling the sun soak into his weary muscles and loosen them. The wind brought the coolness of shadows with it, skidding up from the training field and swirling snatches of conversation to them. There weren't usually students out in the training field at this time of day, but it wasn't unheard of for some teachers to take lessons outside on nice days, of which this definitely counted.

"…adventure fighting the giant goldfish…"

Zoro let himself drift, Luffy's tuneless humming drifting in and out with the change in the wind. He took a breath, feeling the tight new skin from the healing wound in his abdomen and lower back stretch. The past couple of peaceful weeks had afforded him the chance to rest and he was nearly completely healed. Even his ribs were back to feeling normal, which was a relief; he'd been growing tired of them shifting whenever he moved.

"…doubt me?! Well, then I'll show…"

The wind ruffled his hair and he yawned, jaw cracking. He was determined to appreciate days like this as long as he could because his life seemed to have a hectic pace since he'd met Luffy—

"Exploding Star!"

Zoro jerked to his feet, eyes flying open at the sudden explosion no more than ten feet from him. He coughed and tugged his shirt up over his nose and mouth, glad he'd left the top unbuttoned, eyes watering in the sudden smoke.

"Luffy?"

The wind dragged the smoke out of the way enough for him to see the broken ledge his captain had been laying on. The only thing left on the rubble was his hat, which the wind plucked at until it began tumbling down the side of the building. Zoro's wide-eyed gaze swiveled over the rooftop, "Luffy!"

Several screams rang through the air and Zoro staggered through the dissipating smoke until he could peer over the blasted ledge.

"Is that a person?!"

"What happened?!"

"_You killed him!_"

Zoro's stomach dropped and he spun on his heel, slamming the rooftop door open and clattering down the steps.

_Dammit, Luffy!_

* * *

_Not here…_

_Not here either…_

_Is this it?_

Nami yanked the paper out of the folder and held it up until it caught the reflected sunlight streaming over her shoulder. She felt her grin growing, but it froze in place at the sound of running footsteps in the hallway. She crouched a bit lower until just her eyes could be seen over the row of cabinets, gaze anchored to the door.

The footsteps continued… But no one came in. She could hear muffled shouts now and the growing murmur of a crowd. Something hit the door and Nami dropped behind the cabinets completely, listening…

Whatever it was, it moved away from the door. She clucked her tongue and grumbled to herself, "One chance. I get _one chance_ to come in here after months of waiting and all I get is three measly minutes to look!" She folded the map and tucked it into the hidden pocket in her bra, then shuffled to the end of the row of gray cabinets and peered around the corner at the door.

She could see the shadow of feet through the crack underneath, a hissed conversation going on outside of it. Body tense, Nami darted across the room until she was leaning against the wall beside the door. She could feel her heartbeat in her palm as she grabbed the handle and turned it _ever so slowly_ and glimpsed through the tiniest of cracks.

"Did you see that?"

"What fell?"

"It looks like mostly stone, but I could've sworn—"

Nami took a steadying breath. So she wasn't discovered. At least not yet. She kept her eyes on the sliver of hallway she could see and counted down silently.

_Three, two, one…_

She opened the door and slid outside, waiting until she heard the little _snick_ of the latch catching before she wandered nonchalantly toward the crowd gathering at the windows.

"Really! I _swear_ it was a kid!"

"You're so full of it, there's no way that could…"

Nami paused mid-step and all conversation ceased as every eye caught on the shadow tumbling past the window. It slowed and seemed to hover in the air for a moment that lasted forever. Nami felt a cold sweat flash across her skin at the memory of that same hat falling in a warehouse, the red band shimmering in the light like a bloody banner that whispered _you did this_—

The hat dropped out of sight and she sucked in a gasping breath, her whole body shaking. She stepped away until her hands met cool metal and she leaned back against the bank of lockers, eyes wide and staring over the crowd at the now-empty window. She chuckled nervously to herself, hands grasping her elbows as she curled inward. _It didn't happen. He's fine._

"Holy—Doesn't that look familiar?"

"Hey, yeah! That first-year, right? The one we saw getting chased by the student police?"

Nami snorted, letting the other students' voices wash over her until the tremors abated. She straightened and sighed, shaking her shoulders out before she continued down the hallway. Of _course_ they were the ones who had interrupted her work.

Red flashed in her mind again—_You did this._

She raised her chin with a huff. She didn't care what they were doing, but there was no way she was getting involved. Luffy was a firestorm waiting to happen and Zoro was a barely-leashed typhoon. Useful for certain situations, sure, but her work right now required more subtlety than those two combined could come up with. They weren't the tools she needed to use for—

_Tools? You sound just like him._

She felt something hot slide over her fingers and looked down, only to find she'd dug her nails so deeply into her palm that she'd broken the skin. She cursed quietly to herself and lifted her hand to try to stem the bleeding, changing her track to head for the infirmary.

_I am not. I am __**not**_ _like him._ She bit her lip, breath heaving as she made her way down to the second floor, heels clicking loudly in the silence and providing a tempo for her thoughts to follow, _I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not_—

She exited the stairwell and glanced up at the jarring sound of boots thundering down the hallway toward her. The cadence of the gait was familiar and her suspicions were confirmed as Zoro skidded to a halt in front of her, arms wheeling to drain his momentum before he crashed. She turned her head to scowl up at him, but the expression slipped from her face at the half-strangled panic in his eyes. She abruptly pointed behind her with her good hand, "Down the stairs to the first floor, straight down the hallway, and through the doors at the end. That should dump you right outside."

He shot past her, a breathy "thanks" and a flash of gratitude in his eyes the only replies she received before the echo of his boots in the stairwell drowned out all other sounds. She glanced back, body half-turned toward the stairs, but eventually she shook her head and continued down the hallway toward the infirmary.

* * *

Usopp stared at the lumpy shadows in the dust, hands raising subconsciously, "Woah, woah, wait a minute, I didn't do anything…" His voice trailed off, eyes pulled to the straw hat dancing in the air, watching as it drifted to settle in the new teacher's palm.

She eyed it thoughtfully, turning it in her hands, fingers running along the edge. "A straw hat… Didn't the student who stood up to Morgan-san have a straw hat?"

Usopp's heart stopped beating. Oh, no. No, no, no, because if he just shot _him_ down then—

She turned those all-knowing blue eyes to him and placed a finger on her chin, "The rookie, right? Isn't he always with the second-year known as the Pirate Hunter?"

—then the _other one_ would show up soon! Usopp started waving his hands in front of him and smiled nervously, "Hey, hey, hey, aren't we jumping to conclusions here?" He gestured to the cloud of dust that still hadn't cleared, "That's all just rubble, right? There's no way someone was on the roof, I would've seen them!"

The teacher lifted the hat in her hands, "What about this?"

Usopp went to point and realized he was still holding his slingshot. He hastily tucked the weapon into his belt, well out of view, then waved his hand at the hat with a smug smile, "That could've come from anywhere! Look at all those people"—she followed his finger to look at the crowds gathered at the windows—"I bet one of them dropped it by accident and it fell out of a window."

The woman hummed questioningly to herself—_Crap, what was her name again?_—and tilted her head, muttering, "That's certainly possible…"

Usopp laughed, taking a few roundabout steps toward the doors back into the building, "Right? That's way more likely than someone being on the roof." He scoffed and shrugged, "Isn't that off limits anyway?"

The dust was clearing and Usopp gestured at it vaguely, "Look, it's all just rubble. See, I told—"

"AHHHH!"

Usopp nearly jumped out of his skin, hands flying in front of his face instinctively.

"Is that a person?!"

_No, no, no one is there, it's a lie_—

"YOU KILLED HIM!"

Usopp's eyes popped open and he peeked between his fingers at his classmates, following their gazes until he landed on—

Oh.

He gulped, nausea clambering up his throat. Oh, that was a uniform, wasn't it? His hands lowered and he took one horrified step closer, eyes scanning the dark fabric. The student had landed on the back of his neck, head twisted and hidden from view under the sagging weight of the rest of his body. Usopp glanced up at the roof and then back down. Even if he hadn't clearly broken his neck, no one could survive that kind of fall.

His tongue felt thick. He was going to be sick.

Someone moved next to him and Usopp jumped, "Wait—Hey—There's no way—"

The student turned a horrified stare to him, "You _murdered_ him!"

Usopp stumbled back a few steps, "That's not possible!" He clenched his teeth, brow crinkling as he pointed sideways at the body, "No one is supposed to be up there! There _wasn't_ anyone up there! This is impossible! It's—It's not my fault!"

Someone started moaning, "Oh, we're all going to die. If that's really the one who stood up to Morgan then Pirate Hunter won't forgive this…!"

Another student stumbled almost drunkenly past them and headed for the door, face pale, "I'm… I'm going to get the student police force!"

Usopp lurched after him, "Hey wait a second, it's not my fault!" Then there were hands on him and he spun to look at the students holding his arms, "What are you doing?!"

One of them gulped, "P—P—Pirate Hunter will want to know who did it!"

Usopp's face twisted, "_What?!_"

He spun to face the students on his other side as they nodded, "That's right! Maybe he'll let us live if we give you to him!"

Usopp's jaw dropped and he could do nothing but repeat, "_What?!_"

* * *

_Click_.

Nami smirked to herself. Even with an injured hand, she could still pick locks and case a room faster than any other thief she'd ever met. Unfortunately, they didn't have any of the good drugs, the ones that would fetch a nice price with the right people. She just cleaned out the cut and slapped a bandaid on it and left, making sure to re-lock the door from the inside on her way out. She had no idea where the nurse had gone, but it was better that no one knew she'd been in there.

Now if she could just find a quiet place to take a longer look at that map—

—but why were those same boots now pounding down a _different_ hallway? She leaned back as Zoro shot out of the hall on her left and stumbled a few steps before he came to a halt. He spun to look over his shoulder, her shock mirrored on his face as he asked accusingly, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Her shoulders stiffened, "What am _I_ doing here?! I thought you went downstairs!"

He scowled, "I did, but your directions were terrible! The doors I went through took me to a classroom!"

Nami's jaw dropped, "How could they have led—No." She stomped forward and snaked her good hand out and grabbed Zoro's ear, the green-haired man grabbing at her wrist and hissing, "What do you think you're doing?!" She didn't miss that his eyes flicked to the bandaid on her other hand. He looked puzzled, but before he could ask, she dragged him toward the windows, "You are absolutely _useless_ sometimes! Honestly, how someone with so little sense of direction manages to make it to the school every morning beats me, but since you _clearly_ can't be trusted to make it down a single flight of stairs"—she flipped the catch on the window and pushed the bottom half until it creaked open, the hinges at the top almost rusted shut, then spun Zoro around to face her—"then I will just have to _make sure_ you make it outside, won't I?"

His eyes widened and he leaned back like a spooked horse, "Woah, wait, what are you—"

She shoved his head through the window, wedging his wide shoulders into the gap, trapping his arms by his side. He wiggled, voice muffled by the glass in the way as he shouted, "You damn witch, what do you think you're doing?!"

Nami grinned widely and pushed until he was far enough out that his legs couldn't reach the floor anymore, "Giving you directions even you can follow!" Avoiding his kicking legs, she wiggled his swords until they were angled out the window too.

"Dammit, _stop_—"

She grinned and placed her foot against his butt and said triumphantly, "Go straight down!"

Then she shoved him the rest of the way out with a laugh.

Her grin softened.

_I'm not like him at all._

* * *

He stared at the students holding his arms. _Are they crazy?! If they give me up to Pirate Hunter then I'm going to die! _He turned to the teacher and wheedled, "Er… Robin-sensei! Robin-sensei! You can't let anything happen to a student, right? Shouldn't we wait for the, uh, for the student police officers?"

Robin turned the hat slowly in her hands, voice light as she replied, "You _are_ the one who shot him down, Sniper-kun." She smiled with disarming sweetness, "I've heard this Pirate Hunter uses three swords." She gestured vaguely at her black skirt and purple sweater-vest as she started picking her way around the rubble toward the kid who fell, "How do you expect me to stop him with no weapon?" Her voice drifted faintly over her shoulder as she wondered almost to herself, "Maybe if he cuts you in two then we can give half to the student police…"

Usopp shrank back against the students holding him, eyes wide, "AHHH! NO WAY!" _What kind of teacher are you?!_ He turned to look at the students around him again, "Hey, come on, you can't seriously be thinking about offering me as a—as a _sacrifice_, can you?"

They merely turned their gazes away and whistled to themselves, ignoring him completely. Usopp felt panic gripping him. He jerked his shoulders back, trying to dislodge their grips as he snarled, "What kind of friends are you?!"

"Dammit, _stop_—"

Usopp caught the flash of motion from the second-floor window and his eyes followed the dark shape until it landed in a heap between Robin and the kid with the broken neck.

* * *

Coby smiled, inspecting the bandages the first-year had just finished wrapping around his wrist and forearm, "Good! But you want to wrap it tighter. Here, let me demonstrate, hand me the roll…"

Rika handed him the roll with an embarrassed smile, "I'm really no good at medical stuff, Coby-kun. Honestly, I'm more interested in cooking…"

Coby rubbed at his head with his free hand sheepishly as he took the roll of bandages, "Oh, you're not so bad!" She flinched just the tiniest bit and he paused, then abruptly waved his hands in front of him, "I mean at the bandages! Not you—I mean you're not bad either—" Her hand flew over her mouth, mirth crinkling the corners of her eyes, and Coby's eyes widened, "Ah, no, that's not—that didn't come out right—"

"HELP! HELP! HE KILLED THE KID WITH THE ST—"

The door slammed open so hard that it bounced off the wall behind it and swung back to smack the student who had opened it in the face. He grabbed at his suddenly bleeding nose with a howl, tears pricking at his eyes.

Coby leapt up from the table and rushed forward, "Are you okay?!" He ripped a wad of bandage off the roll and held it out, "Here, hold it to your nose…"

The student took it gratefully, then mumbled, "I's urgen', da kid wid da draw…" He stopped and scowled, squeezing his eyes shut and mouthing the words more deliberately, "The. Kid. With. The. Straw. Hat. Died! He was. Shot down from. The roof!"

Coby's heart fluttered in his chest, "That's… That's impossible! Impossible! Im—"

He froze. Was it, though? How many enemies had Luffy-senpai made since starting at the school, anyway? Alvida, Buggy, Morgan, even Helmeppo…

"Coby-kun?"

His shoulders straightened and he turned to Rika, who was hovering half out of her chair uncertainly, "Rika-san, I need you to go round up the other officers immediately! Do you know where everyone is stationed today?"

She stood completely and nodded, lips firming, "Yes! I'll get everyone." She strode out the door, but paused and placed a hand on the doorframe, eyes flicking between Coby and the other student, "Where should we meet you, though?"

Coby grabbed the student's shoulders, "Where is he? Where is Luffy-senpai?"

The student squinted at him, eyes blinking the tears from his eyes, "At… At the training field…"

"Got it!" Rika waved and jogged off, shoes rapping out a steady _ta-tap ta-tap_ that faded quickly.

Coby turned his determined frown back to the student, "Take me to him!"

* * *

_That damn witch! I swear I'm going to throttle her. What kind of backwater town did she grow up in? Kicking people out of windows…_ Zoro kept trying to suck air in, knowing it would only be a few more seconds before the breath that got knocked out of him retur—he inhaled deeply and immediately started rattling off curses, voice growing louder with every coughing breath.

"Oh my." There was a chuckle above him and then the voice continued, "You certainly have the right vocabulary for a Pirate Hunter."

He blinked and squinted up, "Ah?"

The shadow cast by the building made it easier to make out the features of the woman bent over him, enough indirect light behind her that she was illuminated just fine without blinding him. She tilted her head, her dark ponytail sliding over one shoulder as she asked, "Are you alright?"

Zoro's eyes flicked over her quickly. Mid to late twenties, so probably a teacher here. He didn't recognize her, so she was likely new, possibly the replacement they'd gotten for Morgan, but… Based on the look in her eyes, she was no stranger to violence. He'd even go so far as to bet she'd killed before, despite the peaceful aura she gave off. Killing left a stain one could never quite hide.

_How interesting._

He saw understanding flit through her eyes and knew she could tell what he was thinking. But she just gave him a small smile, one that said 'and isn't it terrible?' and offered him a hand, "Do you need help up?"

He sat up, brushing her assistance off, "No, I'm good…" Now that he wasn't lying flat he could see the rest of her clearly, and in her other hand was Luffy's hat. His brows pulled down in a deep frown.

Large blue eyes blinked behind her glasses and she pointed past him with her other hand, "It's his, isn't it?"

Zoro looked where she was pointing off to his right and scrambled to his feet, "_Dammit!_ Luffy!"

"PIRATE HUNTER-SAMA!"

He jerked to a stop and spun with a scowl, "_What?_"

Three students were approaching him, holding someone else between them. They stumbled closer and halted between him and Luffy, all four of them trembling.

"W—W—We—" The student gulped, "This is the student responsible for—for—" He started to turn to look over his shoulder, but clenched his eyes shut and kept facing Zoro, "He's the one who did it!"

They shoved the boy between them forward and he went down on his knees, arms held out to either side. "He—Hey, you jerks, what do you think you're doing to the great Captain Usopp-sama?!" He grinned smugly, sweat racing down his neck, "My subordinates won't stand for this! They'll find you and fill your beds with cockroaches and sprinkle rat poop in your food! Don't think you'll be safe from my eight thousand men!"

Zoro raised a brow. Unfortunately, the kid's claim was entirely ruined by his shaking legs.

It was a decent effort, though.

But he didn't care, because right now they were between him and his captain and that wasn't acceptable. He rested a hand on the hilts of his swords and said, voice low, "Get out of the way."

The students holding the 'great Captain Usopp-sama' all flinched, but rather than obey him, they all seemed to crowd closer and one of them shouted, "Please! We've brought you the troublemaker! Spare the rest of us!"

"HEY!" Usopp struggled in their grip, curly hair bouncing where it wasn't trapped by the green bandana wrapped over the top of his head. "How dare you treat me this way! It wasn't my fault!"

Zoro felt a tic beginning in his forehead. He turned to face them more fully, shifting his feet a little farther apart, fingers subconsciously wrapping around Wado Ichimonji's white hilt. He could see the dark-haired teacher moving in his peripheral vision as she made her way around to Luffy. Which is where _he_ should be going. He glared at the students in front of him, "Move."

Usopp—if that was his real name—gulped audibly, but then suddenly clenched his teeth and said, "Don't think my men will forgive you if you hurt me, Pirate Hunter! But if you let me go now then I'll make sure they leave you alone!"

One of the students shook Usopp and spat out, "Don't make light of Pirate Hunter-sama's righteous anger!"

Honestly, why was no one _listening?_ Zoro was about to reply, but paused and watched the teacher crouch next to Luffy, her body blocking his view of his captain. She lowered her head as if to check something—breathing, maybe?

And then she sat back up and her shoulders started shaking, one hand raising to her mouth, as if—

—as if she was crying.

_No. He can't actually be dead, can he?_ Zoro stared over the students' heads, breath stilling. The kid couldn't be more than what, sixteen? He'd survived Alvida and Buggy, could hold his own barehanded in a fight with Zoro, but had just died from falling off the roof because he was _napping?_ Because he was shot down by _this_ kid?

Zoro eyed Usopp and stepped closer and the boy's stream of warnings cut off abruptly. Usopp's eyes were wide and he let out a squeal when Zoro drew his sword and rested it on Usopp's shoulders, turning the blade toward the kid's neck. Zoro raised his chin, "Have you said your prayers, 'Captain' Usopp?"

He could feel the quivers shuddering from Usopp's shoulder through his sword. The kid's voice was barely more than a whisper as he muttered, "… Please…" He blinked and jerked back suddenly and shouted, "NO! DON'T KILL ME! IT WASN'T MY FAULT! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!"

Zoro gave him a hungry grin and started to draw his sword back a bit for room to—

"_ZORO-SENPAI!_"

He staggered a step to the side as something slammed into him and nearly yanked his sword from his hand. He tightened his grip automatically and braced to take the extra weight, eyes drawn down to see—"What the hell?"

There was a lot of pink there.

"_Coby?_"

Coby glared up at him, light reflecting briefly off his glasses. His arms were fastened around Zoro's, one hand trying to tug the sword from his grip and the other at the crook of his elbow and pulling backward. He was pressed against Zoro's side and hooked one leg behind Zoro's for leverage as he said, "_Zoro-senpai_, what are you doing?! You can't just kill another student!"

Zoro's brow creased and he half-yelled back, "What are you talking about?"

Coby pulled a little harder, using his leg as leverage to force Zoro's arm back some more, "Luffy-senpai wouldn't want this!"

Zoro twitched his shoulder, trying to shake Coby off, "_What are you talking about?_"

They both blinked when they heard a yawn.

"_Wheeeeew!_ That was a good nap!"

They turned disbelieving stares to Luffy, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground and stretching his arms over his head. He yawned again and rubbed at his closed eyes sleepily as he faced them both and asked with a faint whine, "What's going on? Why is everyone being so loud?"

Luffy opened his eyes when he received nothing but dead silence. He swiveled his gaze over them blankly, finally coming to a stop on where Zoro and Coby were still tangled together.

He glanced up at the teacher when she chuckled and stood, then held out his hat. "Is this yours?"

"Hey! My hat!" Luffy snatched it from her and turned it, running his hands over it quickly. He slapped it on his head and grinned up at her from beneath the brim, "Thanks!"

She chuckled again and replied with an amused smile, "No problem."

* * *

_No way. _

Usopp stared.

_There's no way he survived that fall._

He blinked, but the scene didn't change.

Pirate Hunter slapped his palm over his face and sighed out, "_Luffy_…"

The kid with the straw hat—Luffy, he supposed—just grinned impishly.

The student police officer was still holding Zoro's arm back, eyes wide before he sighed and shook his head, "I'm glad you're alright, Luffy-senpai." Luffy chuckled and the officer gave him a long-suffering smile.

The door burst open again and more student police officers came pouring out, fanning along the building as they took everything in. One of the girls stepped forward hesitantly, "Uh, Coby-kun… What's going on?"

Coby glanced at her, "Oh, Rika-san…" He paused, then flinched and started disentangling himself from Pirate Hunter. Once he was free he stood ramrod straight, shoulders thrown back, and faced Luffy, "Luffy-senpai! I think it would be best if we went back to our office to sort this out." He gave Pirate Hunter a stern look, "You too, Zoro-senpai."

Zoro merely glanced at Luffy, who smiled. Zoro smirked in response, then sheathed his sword in one fluid motion with a shrug, dropping his elbow to rest on the hilts comfortably.

Coby scanned over Usopp's classmates, lingering on Usopp for a moment before turning toward Robin, "Sensei, would you mind coming as well? I'd like to get the full story on how this started."

She smiled calmly at him and inclined her head, "Of course, Officer-kun."

Usopp held still. Maybe if she was going then he wouldn't be called out—

Coby pointed at Usopp, "And you too, please. You seem to be involved."

_Crap!_ Usopp glared up at his classmates as they released him, then turned a weak grin to Coby, "I don't really need to come, right? I really think you can get the full story with everyone else—"

He thrashed as someone lifted him by the back of his jacket, but stilled immediately when he heard Zoro say from over him, "You're coming."

Coby eyed Zoro, but eventually turned toward the building and said, "Please follow me."

Usopp flinched as Zoro dropped him to his feet and prodded him in the back with a finger. He sighed and let his head hang before he started shuffling after the others slowly.

* * *

"I'm sorry for the false alarm, everyone. I think I have this handled now though, so you can return to your stations," Coby said as he pulled a blank report form from the desk drawer.

He caught a few disappointed looks, but Rika rolled her eyes and started herding everyone out, sticking her tongue out at him as she shut the door. Coby sat down with a sigh, placing his forearms on the desk and leaning over the paper. He scanned the room for a moment before settling his gaze on the woman sitting in the chair on the other side of the desk, "Sensei…"

"Robin," she supplied.

Coby paused. That sounded like a first name, which was unusual for the teachers here. He wrote her name down in the report swiftly as he asked, "Robin-sensei, would you be able to tell me how this all started?"

She gave him a courteous smile, "Certainly, Officer-kun. I took the students outside for a lesson on the history of the Academy. I thought doing a tour in this gorgeous weather would get my class interested." She lifted her hand from where it had been resting on her crossed legs and waved vaguely, "After our tour, I let the class have the rest of the period to spend outside in the training field and they were mostly chatting amongst themselves…" She cocked her head with a shrug and a tiny smile, her eyes on Coby's scrawling pen as she finished, "Sniper-kun shot at the roof and I believe that's when Straw Hat-kun fell."

Zoro snorted, but merely shook his head and sighed quietly when Coby glanced at him. Coby frowned, then turned to the only student he didn't know, "Are you… ah… Sniper-senpai?"

There was a panicked flash across the boy's features, then he stood from his chair next to Robin's and planted his foot on the seat. He thrust his chest forward and hooked a thumb at it proudly, "That's right, I am the great Captain Usopp-sama! The greatest sniper this world has ever seen!"

_Greatest sniper…? _Coby pushed his glasses up and considered for a moment, hand raising to his chin as he frowned thoughtfully at the desk, "It was quite windy today, and the school roof isn't a short distance…" He tapped the pen against his fingers and looked at Usopp with appreciation, "That had to have been a hell of a shot."

Usopp grinned widely, eyes sparkling, "Right?!" He whipped a slingshot out and pulled the sling back, squinting and aiming at the windows behind Coby, "I aimed for the seventeenth seam between the slabs of concrete from the east side of the building and hit it dead center." He spun slowly until he was aiming at Zoro and he grinned, "I never miss my mark!"

Zoro cocked a single brow and Usopp gulped, hands snapping back to his sides as he spun to face Coby and sat down again. Coby sighed and shot Zoro a stern glance over Usopp's head, but the swordsman merely smirked. Coby dragged his eyes to the left of the room toward Luffy, "Luffy-senpai, how did you get tangled up in this?"

Luffy grinned widely and braced his hands on the edge of the table he was sitting on, leaning forward and kicking his legs absently, "I was taking a nap!"

Coby stared blankly at him, "I… Don't… See how that's relevant…?"

Zoro's exasperated voice filled in quietly from where he was leaning on the table on the opposite side of the room, "What the idiot is leaving out is that we were on the roof, Coby."

Coby grimaced and whined, "Zoro-senpai! _Luffy-senpai!_" He pointed at the grinning teen with his pen, "You know the roof is off-limits! And you!" He turned the pen to Usopp, who was staring suspiciously at Luffy. The other boy glanced at him when he realized he was being addressed and Coby continued, "You should know better than to use weapons on Academy property without supervision, someone could have gotten hurt! _And_ you destroyed Academy property, too!" Coby slumped in his chair and stared at his report glumly, "Now I have to write all _three_ of you up!"

Usopp threw his hands up, "Woah, woah, wait a second!" He smiled apprehensively, "We don't need to write anybody up, right?" He glanced back at Luffy's curious stare and said to him, "Right? Nobody actually got hurt." He suddenly sat up a little straighter and turned back to Coby with a sly grin, "And I _was_ supervised! Robin-sensei was there!"

Coby glared at him, "Don't try to put the blame on Robin-sensei, Usopp-senpai. You know only combat-certified teachers are allowed to supervise weapons use."

Robin cleared her throat gently, waiting until Coby shot her a surprised glance before she said, "Actually, Officer-kun, I am combat-certified."

Usopp turned wide eyes to her, "You are?!" She smiled at him, eyes twinkling, and Usopp stuttered, "O—Of course you are!" He placed his hands on his hips confidently, "Hahaha! Exactly why I felt it was safe to use my weapon!"

Coby asked uncertainly, "... Are you sure you're okay with taking responsibility for his actions, Robin-sensei? The punishment he'd receive just for the property damage alone is no joke, and they may come down harder on you for not stopping him…"

Robin flashed him a poignant smile, a gleam of defiance in her eyes as she replied, "Yes, Officer-kun, I am aware. I was there to supervise him, so I am fully willing to take the blame for not preventing Sniper-kun's actions. He was my responsibility at the time, after all."

Usopp's jaw dropped, "That's…" He swallowed and placed his clenched fists on his knees, bowing deeply from his seat, "Th—Thank you, Robin-sensei!"

She inclined her head, "You're very welcome, Sniper-kun."

Coby sighed quietly, setting the tip of his pen against the page in front of him, "Well, if you're sure, Robin-sensei…" He glanced up at her over the rim of his glasses and she simply smiled, so he reluctantly scribbled the information down. Once he was done he looked back up and considered each of them until his eyes came to rest on Luffy again.

"Luffy-senpai…"

Luffy cocked his head curiously, gaze open and waiting.

Coby quirked his lips to the side, "How did you survive the fall? That was a seven-story drop, and the way you landed looked… Well…" He shrugged and shook his head, "Does it have anything to do with you not having wounds after getting shot a couple of weeks ago?"

Luffy chuckled and grinned widely, "I'm a rubber man!" He hooked a finger in his cheek and pulled and the skin stretched a good foot and a half away from his jaw before he let it snap back into place.

Coby blinked, "Rubber?" And then it clicked and he shot out with amazement, "Did you take Devil Fruit?"

"Yup! Two pills!"

"YOU'RE A DEVIL FRUIT USER?!" Usopp was crouched behind his chair, legs quivering, slingshot at the ready and aimed at Luffy.

Luffy's smile was full of mischief, but before he could do or say anything Robin turned to look at him over the back of her chair and asked curiously, "Only two pills? Why not all five?"

Luffy pouted faintly, "I only found two. I thought they were candy, but then I put them in my mouth and they tasted _teeeerrrrrrrrible!_"

Robin chuckled, one hand raising to her lips, "They do taste terrible, don't they?"

Zoro perked up, shifting to cross his ankles, "You say that like you know. Have _you_ taken Devil Fruit?"

Robin waved her arm and three more sprouted from the crook of her elbow before disappearing into flower petals, "Indeed I have. I've taken all five."

Luffy leaned forward some more, practically leaning over the top of Robin's chair, "Ooh, your power is cool!"

She smiled up at him, "Why, thank you, Straw Hat-kun."

"EEE!"

They both turned to look at Usopp, who had flattened himself against the wall opposite them. "St—St—Stay back!" He lifted his slingshot, the weapon perfectly steady despite his shaking legs. He scooted along the wall toward Coby, "W—Why would a teacher at this Academy be a Devil Fruit user?!" He pointed accusingly at Luffy, "Or a student, for that matter!"

Robin's dark ponytail swayed behind her head as she tilted it to the side, "Quite a few of the teachers at this Academy have Devil Fruit powers, Sniper-kun." She gave him an edged smile, "Even Sengoku-sama does, the principal of the school and Fleet Admiral of the Navy."

"That's right!" Coby said, sitting forward eagerly. "Admiral Akainu, Admiral Borsalino, and Admiral Aokiji are all Devil Fruit users too!"

Robin's expression faltered, but Coby wondered if he'd imagined it because the next second she was smiling softly and nodding, "That's right, all three of them. Although Admiral Borsalino is the only one who is currently teaching here."

Usopp lowered his weapon, eyes widening, "Really?!" Coby nodded fervently to him and Usopp's shoulders dropped, "What?! How are us normal people supposed to compete with Devil Fruit users? This is blasphemy!" He held his hand up at Luffy as if to halt him, "I call foul!"

Luffy started laughing, rocking back on the desk, "Hahaha! You're funny!" He sat forward again, bracing one hand on his knee, eyes playful as he continued, "I like you! Join my pirate crew!"

Usopp stared blankly at him, "… What?" Luffy's gaze didn't waver, so Usopp rolled his eyes and tucked his slingshot back into its holster at his waist and started walking back to his chair, "Oh haha, very funny. Great joke." He crossed his arms and remained standing by his chair as he eyed Luffy.

Both of Luffy's brows climbed slightly, then narrowed, "Joke?" He glanced at Zoro with puzzlement, who huffed a laugh and crossed his arms over his chest as he replied, "As ridiculous as it sounds, he's not joking." He jerked his chin at Luffy, unable to suppress his own smirk as he continued, "For better or worse, this idiot is my captain." Luffy grinned again, teeth flashing.

Usopp glanced between them and Luffy caught his eye and said, "We've got a navigator, too!"

"Really?" Usopp blinked, a faint frown marring his features. "But wait… If you're going to be a pirate…" He gestured with open arms at the building around them, "… then why are you at the World Justice Academy?"

"I'm not going to be just _a_ pirate. I'm going to be the Pirate King!"

Usopp scowled, "_What?_ That's crazy!" He turned to look behind him at Coby's heavy sigh, who shook his head before facing Usopp and saying, "Luffy-senpai will pursue his dream no matter where he is."

Usopp's mouth parted and his eyes flicked thoughtfully from one boy to another. Then he closed his eyes with a smug smile and said, "Oh, I guess I can be on your pirate crew…" He held up a finger, "But on one condition! I get to be the captain!"

Luffy frowned deeply, "No way! I'm the captain!"

* * *

Usopp leapt onto the ladder at the foot of Johnny and Yosaku's bunk bed, one hand wrapped around a wrung and the other held over his eyes as if shielding his gaze from the sun. "And then I looked to the west, and I saw a shape framed by the setting sun!" He lowered his voice, the others leaning closer to hear him, "And lo and behold…" He met each of their eyes individually, "What did I see, but…" He waited for them to lean even closer, preparing his victims for the best part—

—the window slammed open _right_ behind him and Usopp leapt clear over Yosaku's head with a shout, "AHHHHH! WHO'S THERE?!" Johnny and Yosaku both ducked and screamed, but Luffy merely grinned and then ignored them all completely as he turned his alert gaze to the window. Usopp scrambled across the room to the other bed and managed to wedge himself behind Zoro as the man sat up and drew his sword halfway from its sheath, one foot already on the floor.

Luffy leaned sideways to get a better view of the window around the foot of the bunk, head tilted curiously. He stared for a moment at the hunched figure and then asked, "Nami?"

"Who—Who's that?" Usopp kept his weapon aimed, but he let the loaded sling slacken as he squinted more closely at the shape. Orange hair, Academy jacket and tie and skirt… Usopp lowered his slingshot completely, "Oh. Oh, is that the navigator you were talking about?"

Zoro sighed and sheathed his sword, grumbling under his breath as he stood and walked toward the window, "Do you _always_ have to come in like that? " He ran a hand over his short hair and scowled as he came closer and asked more loudly, "Can't you take the door? What do you want, witch?"

Nami smirked, but her face was pale and her voice low as she breathed out, "Doors are for suckers, meathead."

And then her eyes rolled up and she slumped through the window, her head making a sickening _crack_ as it hit the floor.

Zoro's eyes widened, "Wha…"

"Nami!"

Luffy scrambled toward her. Zoro took two last strides until he was close enough to crouch by her side, hands hovering uncertainly over her curled body.

"Nami! Are you okay? Hey, Nami!" Luffy reached forward to pat her face gently, but she didn't respond. He glanced at Zoro with panic, "What do we do?"

Usopp took a few steps closer, "Hey, is she okay?" Johnny and Yosaku both climbed onto the lower bunk and peered over the edge at Nami, "Aniki? What happened to Nami-nee-san?" Usopp leaned over Zoro's shoulder for a better view, brow wrinkling with concern.

Zoro suddenly dropped his gaze to the floor in front of him and went still, "Luffy…"

Usopp and Luffy both looked down and Usopp gulped. That was a lot of blood. There was a shift in the air and he glanced nervously at Luffy. The other boy had gone still as well, his intent stare following the quickly growing pool back to Nami's body.

Zoro leaned forward and very gently lifted Nami's Academy jacket off her stomach, only to find her hand slapped over her side and blood not only leaking between her fingers but also from slices along the back of her hand. He reached out and pulled her hand away to reveal two thick cuts along her palm and several wide, red slices tracing her left side from her lower ribs to her stomach.

Usopp's gasp was the only sound in the heavy silence and he whispered, "Her hands… Those… Those are defensive wounds, aren't they?"

His words set something loose. Zoro growled and stood, one hand falling to grip the hilt of his white sword as he jumped out the window onto the fire escape, head on a swivel. His fingers clenched as he said over his shoulder, "No one's out here." He placed a hand on the railing and leaned over it, "It didn't happen here, but…" He turned to look at Luffy, "There's a trail."

Usopp glanced down to find Luffy's head bowed, eyes hidden by the brim of his hat. He was silent for several moments, then reached forward and laid the Academy jacket back over Nami's side. His voice was quiet as he said, "Usopp, help me pick her up."

Usopp scrambled forward and helped maneuver Nami carefully into his open arms, the both of them trying to cause as little extra damage as possible. Zoro made his way back into the room but kept his gaze trained on the window. Once Nami was settled, Luffy stood swiftly and turned to Johnny and Yosaku, voice urgent, "Where's the nearest hospital?"

Johnny leaped up from the bed, "Twelve blocks south! We can take you there—"

"No…"

Luffy's eyes widened and he glanced down, "Nami! You're awake. We're going to get you to a hospital, you're going to be fi—"

Nami slid a hand across her stomach to hook her fingers into the buttoned seam of Luffy's Academy shirt, "_No_…"

Luffy paused, "No?"

Nami turned her head as if trying to shake it, "Under… Only…"

Luffy gave her a puzzled frown, "Under? What's under?"

Nami pulled in a tired breath, eyelids fluttering, "Underground… Doctor…"

Usopp leaned forward and asked quietly, "Nami? Is there a specific doctor you want to go to?"

She didn't reply. Usopp met Luffy's eyes, then reached forward to touch Nami's shoulder, "Nami? Are you awake?" She still didn't respond, though. Usopp dragged his hands down his face, "Oh no! What do we do?! I don't know of any underground doctors!"

Luffy looked up at Zoro with worry, but the swordsman barely turned to glance over his shoulder before he shook his head. Luffy grimaced, eyes flicking from Nami to the window to the door and back. He closed his eyes and whined, "Ahhh." He quirked his mouth to the side, eyes dropping back to Nami as he muttered almost to himself, "We have to get her help, but I don't know where else to take her. I don't know where Coby lives!"

"Coby… Coby the student police officer?" Usopp spun to look askance at Zoro, "Why would he be able to help?"

Zoro ignored him and looked at Luffy with a grimace, "He doesn't have the training for this, Luffy."

Luffy didn't bother to reply and Usopp dropped his head and rubbed at his hair vigorously, "Ahh! Crap!" He looked back up, gaze flicking between Luffy and Zoro, and raised his hands in a shrug, "What do we do? Do we just take her to the hospital?"

The three of them stared uncertainly at each other in silence until Yosaku mumbled, "There is that _one_ doctor…"

All three turned to him hopefully and Johnny grimaced from beside him, "You don't mean _that_ one?"

Yosaku nodded sagely, "She's the only one I know of."

Luffy stepped forward eagerly, "You know an underground doctor?"

Johnny and Yosaku traded a look and Johnny replied hesitantly, "Yeeees… But… Well…" He shrugged helplessly, "Her prices…"

Luffy stepped closer, Johnny leaning back as blood trickled down Luffy's shirt and dropped to the floor.

Luffy's gaze was fierce, "Take us!"

* * *

It was warm and soft and there was a gentle rhythmic _thwump_ in her dreams that soothed her. Nami drifted out of the full, heavy haze of unconsciousness slowly, each moment bringing with it a little more awareness. Her breath, her throat, the weight on top of her…

A raspy voice musing quietly, "Oh, you're finally awake."

Brown eyes flew open and Nami sat up.

Or tried to, at least. She bit down on a scream, so much _fire_ in her side that she couldn't even react to the hand shoving her left shoulder back into the bed. Nami gasped and tried to curl in on herself, fighting back the tears at the heat ripping across her stomach.

"_Stop_."

Nami's muscles froze, her body happy to listen to any commands that weren't just wails of agony.

"_Relax_."

She took a measured breath through her nose and blew it out slowly past lips she suddenly realized were dry. She did it again. And again. And again. She squeezed her eyes shut against the tears still trying to leak out, the flames that were flaring up her side finally diminishing to a dull roaring ache.

The woman sighed, "Good." She removed her hand from Nami's left shoulder.

Her bare left shoulder.

Her bare _tattooed_ left shoulder.

Her _bandage-no-longer-hiding-it_ tattooed left shoulder.

Her eyes flew open again and she caught sight of a skinny older woman hovering over her. Nami swung her legs out.

Tried. Tried to swing her legs out.

She let loose a cry at the renewed rawness this time, the muscles in her chest spasming in pain.

The woman grabbed her legs and slid them firmly back under the sheets as she grumbled lowly, "_Hold still_. Good grief, child."

Nami slapped a hand over the tattoo on her shoulder and cracked an eye open to glare at the woman, though all she saw was a blend of gray and purple and black as tears filled her vision. She blinked furiously to get them out of the way.

"Hm?" The woman eyed her, gaze eventually drawing to the hand she had slapped over her shoulder. She grinned and leaned down, her purple-and-orange jacket draping over Nami's chest as Nami twitched away from the hand the woman planted on the bed next to her. The woman patted Nami's cheek with her other hand, "Don't worry about that, girlie. No one saw it but me and I don't give a rat's ass who you are as long as I get paid."

Nami continued to glare suspiciously at her and the woman chuckled, standing back up and walking to the counter near the foot of the bed. She grabbed something and tossed it and Nami caught it purely on instinct. She stared in confusion at the roll of bandages.

"If you're so worried about it then we can cover it back up before I bring your friends in here."

Nami heard the woman stroll back to the bed, heels clicking like she had boots on, and then the mattress sank on her right and the woman snatched the roll back, "I'll do it. You just lay there and look pathetic, it'll only take a moment."

Nami scowled, but didn't protest as the woman tugged her arm out from under the blanket and set to work. It really was just a few moments, and then she was tying off the bandage and bracing a hand behind her on the mattress as she leaned back and said, "So. I'm sure you have questions. Hit me."

Nami shifted, but paused when the woman held up a finger, "No sitting up. You can ask questions lying down just as easily."

Nami huffed and wiggled her shoulders, twisting her head until she had a better view of the woman before she asked with no small measure of hostility, "Who are you?"

The woman gave her a wide, sly smile, "Doctorine, at your service. The best damn doctor this side of the Red Line."

Nami's eyes flitted over the room, picking out the jars and vials and herbs. Fine. That was feasible. She ran her hand lightly over the blanket over her stomach, "What happened?" She frowned, only just noticing that both of her hands were bandaged, "How did I get here?"

Doctorine's eyebrows raised, "I was hoping you could tell me. Your injuries were serious. The poison laced into the blades is unusual in this part of the world." Nami just continued staring at her, so Doctorine shrugged, "All I know is that your friends showed up with you three nights ago"—she pointed at Nami—"covered in _your_ blood, and asked me to help."

Nami's brow wrinkled, "Friends?" She couldn't remember much after she'd been stabbed. She'd managed to stash the money, but after that it was murky…

Doctorine grinned widely, "Oh yes. You had quite the escort. They looked rather bloodthirsty, in fact. I wondered if they were the ones who did this to you, but they looked so panicked and out of their depth that I figured probably not." Her smile morphed into something sly, eyes sliding to look at Nami sidelong, "The one with the straw hat was particularly interesting…"

Nami flushed. Oh, _those_ friends.

How had they found her? She… She didn't _go_ to them, did she? Injured?

No. There was no way. She didn't have that kind of trust in _anyone_.

_Are you sure about that?_

She pursed her lips. Yes. She was _absolutely_ sure of that.

Nami blinked, banishing the thoughts. She let her eyes drift to the slowly turning ceiling fan, tracing its blades in the air as she said, "You said they used poison." She struggled and failed to bury the vanity that prompted her to continue weakly, "What's the damage?"

Doctorine laughed, the sound broken enough to be called a cackle. She took a moment to catch her breath and replied, "The blades were laced with curare, so they didn't fester the wounds, if that's what you're asking about. If you rest properly and are careful then the scars shouldn't be very noticeable. I stitched them up nice and tight." She patted Nami's leg through the blanket, voice lowering, "Honestly, you're lucky there wasn't more poison in you. If they'd gotten a solid stab in then you would've lost motor function much earlier." She eyed Nami, "I suspect they wouldn't have stopped with one strike."

Nami felt a shiver make its way through her body. Doctorine lifted her hand from her leg and raised it in a shrug, "But they didn't and you were fortunate enough to get here."

Doctorine stood and placed her hands on her hips, "You seem plenty coherent. Your friends have refused to leave until you wake up and I'm tired of them sleeping on my floor." She strolled to the door and winked back at Nami as she grabbed the handle, "I hope you're prepared."

Nami had enough time to open her mouth for a protest before Doctorine swung the door open and bellowed, "SHE'S AWAKE!"

Nami could hear several voices shouting, but Luffy's was definitely the loudest as he cried eagerly, "NAMIIIIIIIII!"

She couldn't resist the tired grin that pulled at the corners of her lips and just listened to the pound of footsteps and echoing laughter as what sounded like a herd of beasts made its way through the house.

Luffy and someone else came tumbling through the door, the two of them pulling at each other playfully. The kid she didn't know grabbed the skin at Luffy's temple and pulled.

And pulled and kept pulling. Nami's eyes widened at how far Luffy's skin stretched. That shouldn't—

_Ahaaaaa._ Who'd have thought the kid had taken Devil Fruit?

"_Getting shot. How did you avoid it?"_

"_Oh!" Luffy grinned. "I didn't. He hit me right in the forehead."_

Maybe he hadn't been lying after all.

Luffy's skin snapped back and he shoved the other boy away enough to scramble to his knees and grab the edge of the bed. His eyes were bright under his straw hat as he said, "Nami! You're awake!"

Nami smiled, "That's right. I heard I have you all to thank for bringing me here?"

The other boy popped his head over Luffy's shoulder and smiled, "Yeah! Luffy carried you all the way here! His shirt was _completely_ soaked in bloo—Hey!" He flailed wildly, Luffy's arms pinwheeling as Doctorine grabbed the collars of their shirts and dragged them back a few steps. She dumped them on the floor, "Give her some space, you idiots!"

Nami chuckled weakly, wincing at the twinge in her side. Luffy and the other boy both looked at her and their mouths made little 'o's, then they sat cross-legged on the floor where they'd been dropped and grinned at her.

The boy with the green bandana jerked a thumb at his chest proudly, "I'm Captain Usopp! We haven't met yet, but I'm the captain of the crew now!"

"Hey!" Luffy fisted a hand in Usopp's shirt and shook him, "I told you already, _I'm_ the captain!"

Usopp grinned smugly, eyes raising to stare at the ceiling as he shook his head, "What am I going to do with your delusions of grandeur, Luffy? There's no way you can be the captain!"

Luffy growled, raising his other fist, but paused when Zoro appeared in the doorway and leaned on the frame, crossing one leg in front of the other. He gave Nami a smirk, "So the witch _is_ awake. That's too bad, I was hoping you were out of our hair for good."

The words stung. Not because he meant them, because she could deal with that just fine. They stung because he _didn't_ mean them, and that was new and opened something unexpectedly raw in her because she was _glad_ he didn't mean them.

Nami buried the sensation and shot him an arrogant smile in return, "Really? I seem to remember a certain swordsman being rather worried about me."

Which she didn't actually remember. But his blush was _so_ worth the gamble. As was his growled, "Shut up!"

She started to laugh, then flinched as the movement pulled at her stitches, hand flying to her stomach on instinct.

"Hey, hey…" Usopp raised a hand toward her, then smiled anxiously and asked, "What happened, anyway? You were pretty hurt when you showed up."

_Showed up?_ Darn. So she _had_ gone to them with her injuries. _How out of it was I?_ She pulled her other hand out from under the blankets and waved at them vaguely, "Oh, just some jerks who tried to mug me. I took care of them."

"No wayyyy!" Usopp placed a hand on his knee and leaned toward her, "That's so badass!"

Nami smiled to herself as she twisted to lay on her right side. Where had they found this kid? His innocence was kind of adorable.

Luffy's eyes focused on her shoulder and he asked, "I didn't think your shoulder was bleeding…"

Nami froze, but Doctorine's voice drifted over from the counter at the foot of the bed, raising a vial toward the light and swirling the liquid in it as she said absently, "It's from something else. I already took care of it."

Luffy glanced at her, "Oh." He hummed to himself, eyes drifting back to Nami. She was working up a lie when he smiled and said, "Okay." He scrambled to his feet with excitement, "Oh! Nami! You have to meet Chopper, he's awesome!" He turned toward the door and called, "CHOPPER! COME MEET NAMI!"

Something brown moved in the doorway and Zoro peered down curiously, "Isn't that backward?"

The little creature jumped and shuffled his body to actually hide behind Zoro's legs, only one half of his head visible now. Luffy laughed, "Chopper, come here!"

Chopper shook his head and Nami's eyes caught on his antlers. A pet? She met his eyes and smiled. Too much intelligence there for a pet. Another Devil Fruit user, maybe?

She wriggled her head on the pillow to push the fluff out of her field of view and then lifted a hand to wave lightly to him, "Hi there. I'm Nami."

Chopper's eyes went wide and he jerked behind Zoro's legs some more, then slowly leaned out until he could get one eye on her, "I—I'm Chopper."

Nami's eyes crinkled with restrained merriment, "Hi Chopper. It's nice to meet you."

Luffy spun excitedly, "Isn't he cool?!" His eyes twinkled impishly, "He's a raccoon-dog!"

Chopper leaped out from behind Zoro's legs and shouted furiously, "I'M A REINDEER!"

Luffy started laughing and Nami had to bite her lip as Chopper realized he was exposed and scrambled back behind Zoro's legs. Usopp grinned and leaned back, planting a hand on the ground behind him as he looked over his shoulder at Chopper, "Hey, come on, Chopper. Nami isn't going to try to eat you like Luffy did!"

Nami had to stamp out the urge to say 'how do _you_ know?', choosing instead to smile kindly at the little reindeer. Chopper watched her warily, Zoro's eyes sliding sidelong to watch in amusement as Chopper took a few careful steps out from behind his legs. Satisfied that Nami wasn't going to suddenly leap on him, he crept into the room some more, though he was still keeping Luffy and Usopp between him and Nami.

That didn't last long. Luffy grabbed his arm and pulled him forward, ignoring his protests as he looked at Nami and said, "Chopper is awesome! He helps Doctorine with patients and is practically a doctor already!"

Chopper stared at Luffy in panic, using his free hoof to push at the older boy's grip on his arm.

Nami's head moved back a little in surprise, "Wow. Really?" Chopper glanced at her and she smiled again, "That's amazing!"

Chopper smiled and rubbed his hoof against his head sheepishly, body swaying back and forth, "Sh—Shut up! You're not making me happy with your praise! Stupid!"

Nami watched in confusion for a moment, then finally chuckled slowly, humor and pain mixing on her face.

There was a sudden sigh from the foot of the bed and Doctorine grumbled, "Alright, that's enough for today. You're wearing my patient out! Shoo!" She stepped forward and grabbed the back of Usopp's shirt and Zoro's eyes grew wide as she threw him straight at the swordsman.

"The he—"

The two went tumbling down the hall, Usopp's scream surprisingly high-pitched. Chopper dashed from the room after them, eyes wide as he looked back at Doctorine. The woman turned toward Luffy and took a step toward him, but he ducked her grab and danced around her.

"Nami!"

Nami watched as he continued dodging Doctorine's grabs, eyes on Nami as he said, "We'll be back tomorrow!"

"No you won't, you idiot! I don't want you clogging up my house anymore!" Doctorine managed to get her fingers in Luffy's yellow t-shirt, but he twisted and slipped out of her grip and dove between her legs, then scrambled out the door after Zoro and Usopp, laughter trailing behind him.

"Stay out of my house, you morons!" Nami couldn't see her face, but she could hear the smile in her voice as Doctorine finished, "I'll call you if anything changes!"

Luffy's laughter was the only response.

* * *

"… wasn't scared of me at all…"

Nami took a deep breath through her nose, jaw parting for a yawn.

"…nd school sounds really fun! They all go…"

She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and slit them open a crack, adjusting to the light.

"… want to go. He said I could join his crew—"

"Pah! School! School is for idiots. They do nothing but brainwash you with foolish concepts. Especially _that one!_ The World Justice Academy is just a training camp for funneling people to the World Government and the Navy and making cannon fodder for us doctors to try to clean up."

Nami watched their backs as they continued working on some concoction at the counter near the foot of the bed and smiled wryly. Doctorine wasn't necessarily wrong.

"But Doctorine, Zoro said there's a medical—"

Doctorine slammed a vial onto the counter, "Bahhh, Luffy-this, Zoro-that." She planted a hand on her hip and turned to face Chopper, "I don't care _what_ they said. The only school you need is right here, working on real patients and learning _real_ medicine."

"You don't know that! I might learn something useful there!"

"Nothing good will come out of that place, Chopper!"

Chopper clenched his teeth, tears gathering in his eyes. He sniffled and bit out, "Luffy and Zoro and Usopp came out of there! They're good!"

Nami watched as he hopped off the stool he'd been standing on and raced out of the room.

"Chopper!" Doctorine called after him, stepping back from the counter to look down the hallway, but Chopper was already out of sight. She sighed and grumbled under her breath, "Leaving his work behind. What am I going to do with that fool."

She worked in silence for a few more minutes, then said over her shoulder, "Your friends stopped by earlier, but I told them not to wake you. They left you some stuff on the chair by the bed."

Nami leaned over the right side of the mattress, careful of the stitches in her left side, and looked at the chair. She stared in confusion, "What…" She reached out and grabbed the clothes, "Did they leave this? Or did you?" She let the fabric drop out and found herself holding a simple pale blue dress in her hands.

Doctorine placed her vial on the counter and turned, leaning her hips against the edge as she cackled and replied, "Oh, they left that."

Where in the world had they gotten a dress? It was suspiciously close to her size, too… She frowned at it, draping it across the bed and leaning over to grab the next item.

The leg holster for her bo staff. She ran her fingers over the supple leather. It had to have been drenched in blood and sweat, but it had been cleaned and waxed since. Her eyes drifted back to the chair and she picked up the pieces of her bo staff incredulously. These had _definitely_ been coated in blood, mostly from her own hands. And yet they were so polished the wood shone.

Her heart thudded painfully. She'd dropped her bo staff on the ship she'd stolen from. How had—

No. No, there was _no way_ they had figured out where she was. Yet there was no mistaking the wood in her hands, and if this was here then they'd been on that ship. And if they'd been on that ship, then they had to have found it because of her. And if they found it because of her…

She swallowed past the lump in her throat.

… If they had found it because of her, then they had to have beaten her attackers up to get the staff back. Those pirates were known for taking trophies and this would've made a good one for display with all the others she'd seen.

"The green-haired one cleaned those while they all waited for you to wake up."

Nami dragged wide eyes up to Doctorine. The woman smiled fondly and turned back to her vials at the counter, saying nonchalantly over her shoulder, "Spent hours on it."

Nami's fingers clenched reflexively around the wood and before she knew it she was saying, voice soft, "The World Justice Academy has a world-renowned medical program."

There was the barest hitch in Doctorine's movements, but the older woman didn't reply.

Nami laid back in the middle of the bed and pulled the comforter up some more, fingers running lightly over the wood in her hands. "Surely you know there's plenty he could learn from their teachers."

Doctorine gave a faint sigh and muttered, "Mind your own business, girlie."

Nami remained silent, fingers tracing over every familiar grain in each piece of her broken-down staff. The rhythmic motion was soothing and her breath slowed, eyes growing heavy.

She was just drifting off when she heard Doctorine say quietly, "I worry about my son taking care of himself. I don't want him to lose his way."

Nami felt herself smile.

_But there's nothing to worry about. Luffy protects lost things._

She didn't realize she'd said it out loud.


End file.
